After a somewhat disappointing draw last time out, Barcelona will look to make a return to winning ways on Sunday, when they welcome Getafe to the Camp Nou.
Ronald Koeman's men started the new La Liga season with a victory over Real Sociedad before drawing with Athletic Bilbao last Saturday, while their visitors have lost both of their opening two games.
Match preview
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Barcelona find themselves in somewhat of a transitional period under Ronald Koeman, given the major issues off the field, but things must never stand still in Catalonia as the Blaugrana have to prepare to lodge another title bid, having failed to win La Liga since 2019.
Koeman took over at the beginning of last season, and a poor first half saw them seemingly out of the title picture, only for them to win 14 of their first 16 league games after the turn of the year to move back into contention.
While a disappointing finish saw the Catalan outfit fall to third, and they were dumped out of the Champions League by Paris Saint-Germain at the last-16 stage, the ongoing troubles off the field made it a particularly tough task from the start, and with a year's experience at Barca under his belt, Koeman will hope for a clean slate and an improved title push this time around.
They started the new season with a home clash against Real Sociedad, and a Gerard Pique goal and a Martin Braithwaite brace gave them a comfortable 3-0 lead.
While late goals from Julen Lobete and Mikel Oyarzabal made the game tight, Sergi Roberto found the net in injury time to seal a 4-2 victory.
Koeman's men failed to make it back-to-back wins last time out, when they played out a 1-1 draw with an Athletic Bilbao side known to cost them points regularly over the last few seasons, as Inigo Martinez put the Basque outfit ahead before Memphis Depay drew the Blaugrana level in the 75th minute to earn a point, which they may have been fortunate to collect on the balance of the game.
With defending champions Atletico Madrid winning both of their first two matches, Barcelona will know that they cannot afford to give up much ground to their title rivals at this early stage, and will be keen to make a quick return to winning ways on Sunday.
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They take on a Getafe side who will look to get off the mark for the campaign after losing their opening two games.
Sunday's visitors avoided relegation with relative comfort last season, largely down to their strong back line, as only one team outside of the top five conceded fewer than the 43 goals that they shipped in 38 La Liga outings.
The Azulones will have headed into the campaign with the hopes of pushing on from their 15th-placed finish, but they did not get off to a strong start when they travelled to Valencia on the opening day.
Their hosts were playing with 10 men for 87 minutes after Hugo Guillamon's early red card, but they still took the lead in the 11th minute as Carlos Soler converted a penalty, and Michel's side were unable to draw level, eventually falling to a 1-0 defeat.
Following the disappointment of a loss to 10 men, Getafe hoped to bounce back against Sevilla last time out, and the game looked set to end goalless until Erik Lamela hit a 93rd-minute for the visitors to condemn Michel's side to a second straight defeat.
As one of the three sides without a point in the Spanish top flight, the Azulones will be desperate to get off the mark quickly, but they face a particularly tough test on Sunday.
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Team News
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Barcelona have an unenviable list of absentees to deal with, as forwards Ousmane Dembele, Ansu Fati and Sergio Aguero are all out of action.
The injuries are not just in attack either, as experienced centre-back Gerard Pique was recently ruled out, while new arrival Eric Garcia will serve a suspension following a red card last time out, meaning Ronald Araujo and Clement Lenglet may have to partner up at the heart of the back four.
First-choice goalkeeper Marc-Andre Ter Stegen will also continue a spell on the sidelines, meaning Neto will again deputise between the sticks.
After playing in more games than any other player in Europe last season, midfield prospect Pedri has been sent on an early holiday, with Sergi Roberto and Frenkie De Jong completing the midfield three alongside Sergio Busquets in his absence, while Memphis Depay and Antoine Griezmann should again play either side of striker Martin Braithwaite.
Getafe will be without Sabit Abdulai through injury, while former Barcelona man Marc Cucurella will also miss out until after the international break, and remains linked with a move away from the club.
Experienced winger Vitolo is also a slight doubt, but he is expected to make Sunday's game with Michel relying on his key players in a tough clash.
Former Barcelona midfielder Carles Alena will be keen to impress against his former club, having joined Getafe on a permanent deal in the summer after several loan moves away from the Camp Nou.
Barcelona possible starting lineup:
Neto; Dest, Araujo, Lenglet, Alba; De Jong, Busquets, Roberto; Griezmann, Braithwaite, Memphis
Getafe possible starting lineup:
Soria; Suarez, Dakonam, Mitrovic, Olivera; Alena, Arambarri, Maksimovic, Vitolo; Unal, Ramirez
We say: Barcelona 3-1 Getafe
Given their long injury list, Barcelona certainly look vulnerable coming into Sunday's game, but we still see the Blaugrana getting over the line.
Griezmann, Depay and Braithwaite have looked dangerous so far and have a point to prove in the absence of Lionel Messi, and we back the trio to cause plenty of problems and inspire Koeman's men to victory.
Top tip
Sam Varley
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Barcelona win with a probability of 68.6%. A draw had a probability of 18.9% and a win for Getafe had a probability of 12.52%.
The most likely scoreline for a Barcelona win was 2-0 with a probability of 12.17%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (11.3%) and 2-1 (9.66%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (8.98%), while for a Getafe win it was 0-1 (4.17%). The actual scoreline of 2-1 was predicted with a 9.7% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Barcelona would win this match.
