Skip to content

La Liga: Neymar passed fit for Barcelona's clash with Cordoba

Neymar: Celebrates his strike for Barcelona against PSG
Image: Neymar: Fit to face Cordoba

Neymar has been passed fit for Barcelona's Primera Division clash with Cordoba at the Nou Camp on Saturday.

The Brazil forward has missed the last two games against Getafe in the league and Huesca in the Copa del Rey because of a sore ankle but took full part in training on Friday and is set to feature against the promoted side.

His compatriot Dani Alves' involvement looks far less certain though. The full-back trained away from the main group on Friday as he continues to nurse a thigh injury.

Barca will aim to cut Real Madrid's lead at the top of La Liga to just one point going into 2015 with a victory over Cordoba. Real are in Morocco competing in the Club World Cup this weekend and will therefore have a game in hand to make up when they return.

Blaugrana boss Luis Enrique was asked to reflect on his year at his pre-match press conference on Friday, and told the Spanish media: "On a personal level this has been a hell of a year. Firstly with Celta Vigo and now returning back home - it's like paradise, like Disneyland (for me)."

He accepts though, that standards are high at Barcelona and with Real effectively still in the clear at the top, improvements must be made.

"It's my first season at the club," he added.

"We are in a logical process, a normal process. I will be judged when the season ends. We have to improve many things because there is a team that is better than us, as the league table shows."

The 0-0 draw with Getafe last weekend ended a four-match winning run in La Liga for Barca.

That stalemate was in stark contrast to their recent goal spree at the Nou Camp. They have scored five, five, three and eight in their last four matches at home in all competitions, most recently thrashing Huesca 8-1 in the Copa del Rey on Tuesday night.

Opponents Cordoba might, therefore, arrive full of trepidation.

However, they have taken four points from their last two games and have conceded fewer goals (22) than any other team in the bottom six.

They sit third from bottom, with just one win all season, plus eight draws and six defeats.

Around Sky