Barcelona manager will not underestimate Almeria
Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola says that he will not underestimate the challenge posed by fellow La Liga outfit Almeria when the sides meet at the Estadio de los Juegos Mediterraneos on Saturday 20 November.
Guardiola's side are near the summit of the division, just one point behind leaders Real Madrid. However, Almeria are 19 points behind their upcoming opponents and are stuck in the relegation zone at present.
Though defending League champions Barca are widely expected to defeat Almeria, Guardiola says that he will not take the threat posed by the Andalusian side lightly as they have the capability to surprise with their tactics.
He told reporters that: “I do not want to underestimate Almeria because the attitude we have taken towards our opponents has been key in the success that we have had. They have not conceded many goals and they are in the bottom half of the table due to the
number of draws at home, where they have lost just once.
"They started with 3-4-3 formation, then changed to 4-3-3 and then fielded five defenders against Athletic Club (Bilbao). You never know how they could play and that is an added difficulty for us."
Almeria has won just a single game this season and drawn a further six of their 11 games so far to claim only nine points. Their sole victory came over fellow strugglers Deportivo de la Coruna on 26 September when they won 2-0 away from home.
Barca, meanwhile, have lost just one game this season, a shock 2-0 defeat at the hands of newly promoted Hercules on 11 September. However, the Catalan giants have recovered from that upset to win nine of their other 10 league games, drawing just one, to
give themselves a good chance of overtaking Madrid after the first El Clasico clash of the season on Monday 29 November.
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