FC Barcelona will be looking to keep the pressure on Real Madrid as they play host to Sporting Gijon on Wednesday
Barcelona have not had the best of campaigns in the 2016/17 season and are on the verge of being eliminated from the Champions League. Ligue 1 side Paris St. Germain mauled the Catalan outfit 4-0 in the first leg of their Round of 16, and are expected to progress to the quater-finals of Europe’s elite club competition.
To add to Barcelona’s woes, they have been playing catch up with their El Clasico rivals Real Madrid since the start of the season, and still find themselves behind the capital outfit, despite having played a game more than them.
Thus, it is essential for them to pick up three points and keep the pressure on Real who also take on Las Palmas after the final whistle is blown at the Camp Nou. Failure to pick up three points for Barcelona could see Real build at least a three-point cushion with an essential game in hand.
For this one, Barcelona will be bereft of the services of centre-back Jeremy Mathieu. The Frenchman was outstanding on the weekend against Atletico Madrid, but had to depart in the 75th minute of the contest due to a sprain in his ankle ligaments.
The injury was caused due to a malicious challenge made by Atletico forward Angel Correa. It appears that he is going to be ruled out for a few weeks, giving manager Luis Enrique a huge selection headache as Javier Mascherano and Aleix Vidal have also spent long spells on the touchline.
However, Mascherano appears to have recovered from the hamstring injury he encountered against Atletico in the Copa del Rey semi-final at the start of February. The Argentine returned to training on Friday, but was not in the best shape to make it to matchday squad on Sunday.
But it appears that he has recuperated from the injury, and is likely to be named among the substitutes against Gijon, and will be given 30 minutes during the closing stages of the game. Arda Turan is also returning from a groin injury, and could make the bench at Camp Nou on Wednesday.
