Barcelona are aiming for their third-straight La Liga victory when they take on the struggling Granada on Sunday night.
Barca’s recent upsurge has arrived in the wake of Xavi’s announcement regarding his future, with the Spaniard set to step down as manager at the end of the season.
Last week’s draw in the Madrid Derby means Xavi’s side are just eight points adrift of Real Madrid at the summit with Los Blancos taking on second-place Girona on Saturday evening. Thus, there’s a chance for Barcelona to thrust themselves back into title contention by the time the weekend concludes.
While Granada have endured a miserable 2023/24 campaign, they have emerged as the Catalans’ bogey team. Barca are winless in four against Sunday’s opponents and haven’t won a head-to-head duel since 2021.
Here’s 90min’s preview of Sunday’s La Liga clash.
Barcelona vs Granada H2H Record (Last Five Games)
Current Form (all competitions)
|
Country |
TV channel/live stream |
|---|---|
|
United Kingdom |
LaLigaTV, Viaplay Sports 1, Viaplay UK |
|
United States |
ESPN+, ESPN Deportes |
|
Canada |
TSN+ |
Vitor Roque’s harsh dismissal at Deportivo Alaves last weekend means he’s suspended for Sunday’s game, leaving Xavi even shorter of attacking options.
The Spaniard can’t call upon the likes of Ferran Torres, Joao Felix, and Raphinha this weekend due to injuries.
Alejandro Balde, Gavi and Sergi Roberto are long-term absentees, with Marcos Alonso and Marc-Andre ter Stegen also out of Sunday’s game. Ilkay Gundogan is a doubt.
Barcelona predicted lineup vs Granda (4-3-3): Pena; Kounde, Araujo, Cubarsi, Cancelo; Christensen, De Jong, Pedri; Yamal, Lewandowski, Fermin.
The visitors are without suspended duo Gonzalo Villar and Kamil Piatkowski for their trip to Catalonia.
Bryan Zaragoza, who scored twice in the reverse fixture, is no longer at the club having confirmed his move to Bayern Munich in January.
Raul Fernandez and Victor Diaz are set to miss out through injuries.
Granada predicted lineup vs Barca (4-1-4-1): Batalla; Sanchez, Mendez, Maouassa, Neva; Hongla; Pellistri, Melendo, Ruiz, Uzuni; Arezo.
Xavi has certainly been aided by a tame schedule since his decision to step down, and they should secure their third successive win on Sunday despite their mountain of injuries.
Granada’s recent success against Barca will give them hope of pulling off the upset, although the exit of Zaragoza greatly reduces their chances of stunning the hosts.
Barca should be able to assert control throughout Sunday’s bout and hope one of their fit forwards produces a magical moment or two.
