FC Barcelona (2nd, 49pts) vs Real Oviedo (20th, 13pts)
Competition/Round: 2025-26 La Liga, Matchday 21
Barcelona Outs & Doubts: Gavi, Ferran Torres, Pedri, Andreas Christensen (out)
Real Oviedo Outs & Doubts: Eric Bailly, Ovie Ejaria (doubt)
Date/Time: Sunday, January 25, 2026, 4.15pm CET/WAT (Barcelona & Nigeria), 3.15pm GMT (UK), 10.15am ET, 7.15am PT (USA), 8.45pm IST (India)
Venue: Camp Nou, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Referee: Juan Martínez Munuera
VAR: Mario Melero López
How to watch on TV: ESPN Deportes (USA), Premier Sports 1 (UK), SuperSport (Nigeria),
others
How to watch online: ESPN+ (USA), Premier Sports Player (UK), FanCode (India), DAZN (Spain), others
Following a crucial win over Slavia Prague in Champions League action in midweek, Barcelona turn their attentions back to La Liga as they face bottom of the table Real Oviedo at the Greatest Stadium on Earth on Saturday afternoon.
This is the first home game for Barça in 2026 and the first in six weeks after playing eight straight games away from home. There truly is no place like home, and spending so much time on the road certainly makes this one feel special.
Barça will start the game in second place in the table thanks to Real Madrid’s win over Villarreal on Saturday and only three points will return the Catalans to the top of the standings, so this is a must-win game in the title race for Hansi Flick’s troops.
It’s hard to say any team is a huge favorite in today’s game, but Barça should be considered huge favorites in this one. Oviedo are serious candidates for relegation and have not won a match in any competition since September, and arrive at Camp Nou on a 13-game winless streak in the league.
They have managed seven draws in this period and are still alive in the fight for survival for now, but they’ll come to Barça’s stadium to defend as deep as possible and try to pull off a major upset to boost their hopes of staying in the top flight.
Their defensive numbers don’t offer a lot of hope, though: Oviedo have conceded the third-most goals in the league and are ranked 20th in Expected Goals Against, and they also have by far the worst attack and rely almost entirely on long balls and set pieces to try and create offense.
Oviedo gave Barça a tough test in their first meeting of the season in which the Blaugrana needed a second half comeback to pull off a win, but Oviedo have gotten progressively worse since that night in September and won’t be able to offer the same resistance if Barça take this seriously from the start.
The urgency of needing three points after Madrid’s victory should be enough to motivate Barça to not take this for granted, but we’ve seen them make these types of games at home against bad teams way too complicated in the past. They really shouldn’t have a lot of trouble going about their business and winning this quite comfortably, so their attitude must be top-notch to play good football from the start, secure enough goals to get all three points, and return to first place in style.
Let’s dance.
POSSIBLE LINEUPS
Barcelona (4-2-3-1): Joan; Cancelo, Cubarsí, Martín, Balde; Eric, De Jong; Yamal, Fermín, Raphinha; Lewandowski
Oviedo (4-2-3-1): Escandell; Vidal, Carmo, Costas, Alhassane; Colombatto, Sibo; Hassan, Reina, Chaira; Viñas
PREDICTION
I don’t usually think Barça will have easy games, but I see them taking this one seriously, having a fairly comfortable time and securing a solid win at home: 4-1 to the home team.
