FC Barcelona host Getafe tomorrow in Sunday's early kick-off, as they look to bounce back from last week's underwhelming 1-1 draw against Valencia. Despite dropping those two points at the Mestalla, the Blaugrana still have a healthy lead over Atletico Madrid at the top of La Liga - and that lead stand at twelve points by the time Atleti kick-off in their match against in-form Rayo Vallecano. That being said, some of the Barca players are unlikely to be at 100% following the midweek internationals; will they have enough left in the tank to defeat Getafe?
Given that Getafe have never won at the Camp Nou, and that Luis Garcia's side have struggled for form on their travels thus far this season, it's hard to envisage anything other than a Barcelona win tomorrow - but what will the final result be? Predict the score by voting in our poll, and by commenting with your prediction below.
Given that Getafe have never won at the Camp Nou, and that Luis Garcia's side have struggled for form on their travels thus far this season, it's hard to envisage anything other than a Barcelona win tomorrow - but what will the final result be? Predict the score by voting in our poll, and by commenting with your prediction below.
Team News
FC Barcelona
Xavi’s injury is a huge blow and the team will miss his calm orchestration of the play. Thankfully, the injury isn’t serious and he is expected to be back in two weeks’ time. This will give Thiago a chance to start, if the team opts for a direct position replacement. Villa, Alexis or Tello may feature in the game if Tito and Roura decide to drop Cesc and Iniesta to the midfield.
Pedro is expected to play as the team will bank on his excellent run of form. He has been in peak condition, physically and form-wise, terrorizing defenses in the last few games. His confidence will be particularly high following his scintillating performance for Spain.
With only Dos Santos, in addition to Xavi, unavailable for selection, Barça goes into the game with a plethora of options and alternatives.
Predicted starting XI: Valdes, Montoya, Puyol, Mascherano, Alba, Thiago, Busquets, Iniesta, Pedro, Messi and Fàbregas.
Full Squad: Valdés, Pinto, Dani Alves, Piqué, Fàbregas, Puyol, Villa, Iniesta, Alexis, Messi, Thiago, Mascherano, Bartra, Sergio, Pedro, Jordi Alba, Montoya, Adriano, Song and Tello. (2 will be dropped from the official 18)
Getafe CF
Getafe will miss a few players owing to injuries and suspensions. They will be without the services of first choice goalkeeper, Miguel Angel Moya and defender Rafa Lopez. The likely starting lineup will be very similar to the one we played against in the 1-4 win, with the exception of Codina replacing Moya.
Predicted starting XI: Codina, Alexis, Miguel Torres, Alberto Lopo, Valera, Pedro León, Diego Castro, Michel, Xavi Torres, Adrián Colunga and Abdelaziz Barrada.
FC Barcelona
Xavi’s injury is a huge blow and the team will miss his calm orchestration of the play. Thankfully, the injury isn’t serious and he is expected to be back in two weeks’ time. This will give Thiago a chance to start, if the team opts for a direct position replacement. Villa, Alexis or Tello may feature in the game if Tito and Roura decide to drop Cesc and Iniesta to the midfield.
Pedro is expected to play as the team will bank on his excellent run of form. He has been in peak condition, physically and form-wise, terrorizing defenses in the last few games. His confidence will be particularly high following his scintillating performance for Spain.
With only Dos Santos, in addition to Xavi, unavailable for selection, Barça goes into the game with a plethora of options and alternatives.
Predicted starting XI: Valdes, Montoya, Puyol, Mascherano, Alba, Thiago, Busquets, Iniesta, Pedro, Messi and Fàbregas.
Full Squad: Valdés, Pinto, Dani Alves, Piqué, Fàbregas, Puyol, Villa, Iniesta, Alexis, Messi, Thiago, Mascherano, Bartra, Sergio, Pedro, Jordi Alba, Montoya, Adriano, Song and Tello. (2 will be dropped from the official 18)
Getafe CF
Getafe will miss a few players owing to injuries and suspensions. They will be without the services of first choice goalkeeper, Miguel Angel Moya and defender Rafa Lopez. The likely starting lineup will be very similar to the one we played against in the 1-4 win, with the exception of Codina replacing Moya.
Predicted starting XI: Codina, Alexis, Miguel Torres, Alberto Lopo, Valera, Pedro León, Diego Castro, Michel, Xavi Torres, Adrián Colunga and Abdelaziz Barrada.
The Lineup Conundrum
This season has seen Barça players who are part of what is considered to be the team’s best starting lineup play almost four times as many minutes as any of the substitute players. According to Marca, each player of the regular starting lineup has played an average of 2,000 minutes compared to the 500 minutes played by other substitute players (yes, we can take Marca‘s word on this!). Earlier in the season no two matches had the same lineup. However, since the return of Pedro and Fàbregas from their respective injuries, the starting XI has become quite predictable.The away game against Getafe CF in the first half of the season saw Barça play with a distinctively new lineup. The team, consisting of new talent, churned out a fantastic 1-4 win. Granted, the introduction of Messi sealed the game, but that does not diminish the work of players like Montoya, Thiago and Tello who justified the opportunity given to them.
At this stage of the competition (particularly as we are in the accursed month of February) we need fresh legs. Barça’s bench is filled with enviable talent, waiting to take the load off the regular starters. Hopefully we will get to see them in action in the subsequent games.
Prediction:
Barça will hold possession of course. This is always the case, although its effectiveness has been watered down in the past couple of draws. However, with fresh legs, our possession game will be at its best, which we will need when facing Getafe’s defensive bulk at the back. With Iniesta terrorizing the left wing and running across the corner line, and Pedro doing the same on the other wing, it’s hard not to predict many midfielders breaking through the center to aid Messi there, regardless of Getafe’s attempt in bulking the defense.
Other than worries about Getafe breaking on the counter attack, Mascherano or Puyol might be able to push a bit upwards, and give Busquets a chance to be a near box playmaker, which is an option rarely tested by Tito so far, but which is gaining some credibility with his recent decisive passes.
We never take any opponent lightly, and Getafe had proven itself against bigger teams this season, but this match comes at a point that leads us to believe in our dominance breaking their lines apart. Fingers crossed that no bad luck will come to our defense, considering the many goals scored against us this season from unfortunate deflections. Let’s relax and enjoy what is likely going to be a goal fest this sunny noon.
This season has seen Barça players who are part of what is considered to be the team’s best starting lineup play almost four times as many minutes as any of the substitute players. According to Marca, each player of the regular starting lineup has played an average of 2,000 minutes compared to the 500 minutes played by other substitute players (yes, we can take Marca‘s word on this!). Earlier in the season no two matches had the same lineup. However, since the return of Pedro and Fàbregas from their respective injuries, the starting XI has become quite predictable.The away game against Getafe CF in the first half of the season saw Barça play with a distinctively new lineup. The team, consisting of new talent, churned out a fantastic 1-4 win. Granted, the introduction of Messi sealed the game, but that does not diminish the work of players like Montoya, Thiago and Tello who justified the opportunity given to them.
At this stage of the competition (particularly as we are in the accursed month of February) we need fresh legs. Barça’s bench is filled with enviable talent, waiting to take the load off the regular starters. Hopefully we will get to see them in action in the subsequent games.
Prediction:
Barça will hold possession of course. This is always the case, although its effectiveness has been watered down in the past couple of draws. However, with fresh legs, our possession game will be at its best, which we will need when facing Getafe’s defensive bulk at the back. With Iniesta terrorizing the left wing and running across the corner line, and Pedro doing the same on the other wing, it’s hard not to predict many midfielders breaking through the center to aid Messi there, regardless of Getafe’s attempt in bulking the defense.
Other than worries about Getafe breaking on the counter attack, Mascherano or Puyol might be able to push a bit upwards, and give Busquets a chance to be a near box playmaker, which is an option rarely tested by Tito so far, but which is gaining some credibility with his recent decisive passes.
We never take any opponent lightly, and Getafe had proven itself against bigger teams this season, but this match comes at a point that leads us to believe in our dominance breaking their lines apart. Fingers crossed that no bad luck will come to our defense, considering the many goals scored against us this season from unfortunate deflections. Let’s relax and enjoy what is likely going to be a goal fest this sunny noon.
