Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Prediction: Barcelona vs Getafe

Verdict: Antoine Griezmann to score

Best odds: 11/8

Bookmaker: Unibet

It has been a turbulent few days in the football world, with the so-called ‘European Super League’ project announced and then scrapped between Sunday and Tuesday. Be that as it may, Barcelona are set to welcome Getafe to the Camp Nou on Thursday in La Liga.

Barcelona

The Catalan club was one of the three from Spain (with Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid) involved in the controversial project which has come under severe fire along with the people behind it, and at the time this is being written, they remain one of the two (Real being the other) who are yet to officially withdraw from it.

But as things stand, the Blaugrana are still competing in the Spanish top flight, having been knocked out of the Champions League by Paris Saint-Germain in the round of 16 and won the Copa del Rey by thrashing Athletic Bilbao in the final on Saturday. Their chances of winning the league are very real, even though it didn’t look like they would be until recently. At the moment, Barcelona are third in the table with 65 points, five less than Atletico at the top and two less than Real in second, with a game in hand on both competitors. Real play against away to Cadiz tonight (Wednesday) and a win would see them increase the gap, but after this match, Barcelona will still have the advantage of an extra game remaining.

Barcelona won five of the last six league matches they played. They beat Sevilla at home by 3-0, Osasuna away by 0-2, Huesca at home by 4-1, Real Sociedad away by 1-6, and Valladolid at home by 1-0. The only defeat in that period will have hurt very much, though, seeing how it happened in the El Clasico at the Alfredo Di Stefano stadium in Madrid, but their opponent in this match did them a favour on Sunday by holding Real to a goalless draw.

Team News

Coach Ronald Koeman won’t be able to call upon winger Ansu Fati and midfielder Philippe Coutinho, who are both out with long-term injuries, but the rest of the squad should be at his disposal. Gerard Pique could be given a rest given that he played on Saturday having just return from an injury of his own, in which case Ronald Araujo would likely be the one to replace him.

Getafe

Getafe will be going into this match with little hope of holding off the Catalan giants, but the match is extremely important for them as well and they’ll certainly do their best. Sitting 15th with 31 points, just four above the danger zone, they’re not safe from relegation by any means. Alaves, Huesca and Valladolid are all directly below with 27, Elche is 19th on 26, and Eibar at the bottom with 23. The battle to avoid the drop promises to be fierce, just as the one for the title.

Getafe’s form has been rather peculiar. The run of their last six league games starts with a 3-0 triumph at home against Valencia. After that, they were beaten away to Valladolid by 2-1, they drew 0-0 at home against leaders Atletico, 1-1 at home against bottom-side Elche, 0-0 away to Osasuna, lost at home to Cadiz by 0-1, and played 0-0 at home against Real Madrid. Avoiding defeat against both Madrid clubs was just as impressive as it will have been disappointing to lose to Valladolid and Cadiz, and hand Elche a big point.

Team News

Jose Bordalas in the visitors dugout will be without right-back Allan Nyom, who is suspended due to a yellow card accumulation. Damien Suarez will likely replace him in the starting XI.

There will be plenty of attention on midfielder Carles Alena, who is at Getafe on loan from Barcelona and put in a great performance against Real. And speaking of Real, their loanee Tafekusa Kubo will likely remain on the bench.

Conclusion

This game shouldn’t be too unpredictable in terms of the outcome – Barcelona simply have too much quality to compare with Getafe and they will probably settle the contest in their favour without too many difficulties.

Antoine Griezmann found the opposition net twice in the Copa final a few days ago, and it would hardly be surprising if he scored again.

Verdict: Antoine Griezmann to score

Best odds: 11/8

Bookmaker: Unibet

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Veselin Trajkovic


Vesko is a football writer that likes to observe the game for what it is, focusing on teams, players and their roles, formations, tactics, rather than stats. He follows the English Premier League closely, Liverpool FC in particular. His articles have been published on seven different football blogs.

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