Defending Spanish La Liga champions Barcelona will have the chance to go level on points with leaders Real Madrid when they take on high flying Getafe at the Camp Nou this Saturday.
Getafe are third on the log with 42 points, seven behind Barcelona in second. Getafe comes into the match on the back of a four-match winning run that has seen them beat Valencia 3-0 last weekend.
Barcelona, on the other hand, has won three of their last five. The last match was a 3-2 victory over Real Betis. The good thing with that victory was that Barcelona scored three times and Lionel Messi was not among the scorers. The bad thing was that he created all three goals, such is the over-reliance on the reigning World Player of the year.
Team News
Barca will again be unable to call upon injured forwards Dembele and Luis Suarez, while central defender Clement Lenglet is suspended following his red card against Betis last weekend.
Gerard Pique is back from a ban of his own, though, and will return to the starting XI.
It remains to be seen whether Samuel Umtiti and Nelson Semedo will both be available, however, as the former missed training on Wednesday due to a knock while the latter was absent through illness.
Ansu Fati and Jordi Alba were both named on the bench against Betis but should return, while Arthur is pushing for a spot in the middle of the park.
As for Getafe, experienced defender Damian Suarez will miss out through suspension, but Bordalas otherwise has a strong squad available to choose from this weekend.
Angel continues to be linked with a move to Barca, but the number nine could again be on the bench this weekend with Jorge Molina set to continue alongside Jaime Mata in attack.
Kenedy is another option for change, although Allan Nyom’s defensive capabilities could see the 31-year-old again feature in a wide position, while Marc Cucurella should line up against his parent club.
Betting Tip
Barcelona to win and both teams to score @3.11