Good evening! Thank you very much for joining
Sports Mole for tonight's La Liga clash between
Leganes and
Barcelona at the Estadio Municipal de Butarque!
This match pits bottom against top, so unsurprisingly Barcelona are heavy favourites to return to winning ways after seeing their perfect start come to an end at the weekend. Leganes are still searching for their first victory of the campaign, but have upset the odds on a number of occasions during their relatively short stint in the top flight so far.
We will have a close look at both teams in a little while, but first let's check out the team news...
LEGANES STARTING XI: Cuellar; Juanfran, Bustinza, Tarin, Silva; Carnero, Perez, Vesga, El Zhar; Oscar, En-Nesyri
LEGANES SUBS: Serantes, Rolan, Gumbau, Carrillo, Nyom, Merino, Santos
BARCELONA STARTING XI: Ter Stegen; Roberto, Pique, Umtiti, Vermaelen; Rakitic, Busquets, Coutinho; Munir, Messi, Dembele
BARCELONA SUBS: Semedo, Arthur, Suarez, Cillessen, Malcom, Alba, Vidal
What can we make of those two teams, then?
Well, we'll start with the visitors - sorry Leganes, but those are the sorts of perks the defending champions get - and as expected manager Ernesto Valverde has made a number of changes for tonight's midweek match.
Six, to be precise, and only one of those is enforced with Clement Lenglet missing out due to suspension after his appeal against the controversial VAR-reviewed red card he received at the weekend was turned down. The centre-back only has a one-game ban, though, so will be available again at the weekend.
Of course, Barcelona have a readymade replacement in the shape Samuel Umtiti, so it is their first-choice centre-back partnership again tonight.
There are changes either side of them, though, with Alba and Semedo both dropping to the bench in favour of Sergi Roberto and the lesser-spotted Thomas Vermaelen, who gets a rare runout on the left flank this evening.
Further forward, Ivan Rakitic and
Philippe Coutinho both return to the side after being rested from the start during the weekend draw with Girona, with Vidal and Arthur dropping to the bench as Busquets is the only one of that trio to keep his place.
There is also a notable inclusion on the bench, with summer signing Malcom back in the squad following an injury which was meant to keep him out for just a week, but in the end took closer to three to recover from.
There was the possibility that Lionel Messi would be rested for this match, but he very rarely misses games and could be even more potent than usual tonight considering he is down to play through the middle - although in reality the maestro will likely pop up wherever he feels like it.
Messi has eight goals in seven appearances across all competitions this season - including four in his last two - and may have a point to prove after being omitted from the final three of the main award at Monday's The Best awards.
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Joining the five-time Ballon d'Or winner in that attacking trident are Munir El-Haddadi - who replaces Luis Suarez in the starting XI - and Ousmane Dembele, who has enjoyed a return to his pre-injury best during the opening weeks of this season.
The French winger suffered an injury-plagued debut campaign at the Camp Nou, but already has more goals this season than he did last having found the back of the net five times in his seven outings.
As for Leganes, they have also made a number of changes to their starting lineup, making it a lot more defensive in anticipation of the Barcelona assault which is expected to occur tonight.
Manager Mauricio Pellegrino is expected to play with five at the back and another four screening them in midfield, with Youssef En-Nesyri the man looking to lead the line with what possession Leganes might enjoy.
In all there are six changes from the team which lost to Eibar last time out, including a return for top scorer and former Liverpool player
Nabil El Zhar, who will hope to offer some threat on the break with his pace down the wing.
Elsewhere in midfield the likes of Vesga and Oscar Rodriguez come into the side, with one-time West Ham target Diego Rolan and Southampton loanee Guido Carrillo amongst those to miss out.
Indeed, there are a number of familiar faces in this Leganes squad, most of whom are on loan at the club. West Brom's Allan Nyom only makes the bench, while Chelsea loanee Kenneth Omeruo is not in the squad tonight.
Juanfran will drop back into a deeper role on the right flank, while Jonathan Silva returns on the opposite flank and Tarin drafted into the centre of defence.
Plenty of changes from the hosts, then, and you cannot really blame them for holding some players back for games they might have a more realistic possibility of winning.
That said, any positive result - or even a positive performance - against the might of Barcelona could be exactly the catalyst they need to kickstart what has been an ominous start to the 2018-19 season.
Leganes sit rock-bottom of the table after five games of the new campaign, picking up just one point from the 15 on offer so far to leave themselves already three points from safety.
Tonight's hosts are one of only three teams - alongside Valencia and Real Valladolid - yet to pick up a win in La Liga this season, while only three teams have conceded more than their 10.
The most recent outing saw Leganes lose 1-0 to Eibar, with Kike getting the only goal of the game seven minutes into the second half, and despite their poor results they have not made things particularly easy for opponents so far this season.
Villarreal were also only 1-0 winners in Leganes' last home game, and the only match they have lost by more than one goal this season came at the Bernabeu in a 4-1 defeat to Real Madrid.
It is worth remembering that this is only Leganes' third ever season in the top flight of Spanish football, and the previous two campaigns have seen them finish in 17th place on both occasions - just one spot above the relegation zone.
Four points was the gap of survival in their debut La Liga campaign, but the 17th-placed finish is a little misleading when it comes to last term as Leganes actually finished a full 14 points clear of relegation.
The concern that there is unlikely to be three teams as bad as the trio that got relegation last season in La Liga this time around, so new manager
Mauricio Pellegrino will need to get that elusive first win under his belt sooner rather than later.
The former Southampton manager is already coming under some pressure after this dreadful start, although his last spell in Spain saw him lead newly-promoted Alaves to the Copa del Rey final. His reputation was damaged by that unsuccessful nine-month stint at St Mary's, though.
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In fairness to Pellegrino, Leganes' poor form stretches back into last season too, and they have now lost seven of their last nine league outings, winning just one of their last 11 too.
Indeed, tonight could see them lost four La Liga games in a row for the first time since November - not a bad run without for such a new team on the block - and they could also fail to score in three La Liga games on the bounce for the first time since February.
It was their form here at the Butarque which saw them survive so comfortably in the end last season, with 31 of their 42 points coming in front of their own fans, conceding only 19 home goals in the process.
So far this term they have managed just the one point from their two home outings, though, and including the tail end of last season it is only one win in five La Liga home games following a run of six wins in 10 before that.
If the Leganes of last season turn up tonight then Barcelona could find things a little more difficult here, but there is no doubt that the visitors, champions and league leaders will go into the game as overwhelming favourites to come away with all three points.
Barca have begun the season in good form, dropping only two points from their opening five games, although there is still the feeling that they are yet to get up to full speed this term.
Barcelona are level on points with fierce rivals Real Madrid after those opening five games, but currently lead the way on goal difference having scored more than any other team.
Valverde's side average more than three goals per game in the league so far this term, although half of their 16-goal tally came in one game when they hammered Huesca 8-2.
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Barca's perfect start to the campaign came to a shuddering halt on Sunday, though, as they were held at home by Girona in an action-packed and controversial encounter at the Camp Nou.
Lenglet's red card while Barcelona were leading proved to be a turning point - and one Valverde disagreed with the VAR on - with Cristhian Stuani scoring either side of half time to turn the game on its head before Gerard Pique salvaged a draw to protect Barca's two-year undefeated streak at home in the league.
Barcelona had also made a winning start in other competitions prior to that draw with Girona - beating Sevilla in the Spanish Super Cup and PSV in the Champions League - but it is in La Liga where they have found their best form over the past year or so.
Indeed, the Spanish champions have incredibly lost just one of their last 50 La Liga games stretching back to April 2017, winning 39 of those.
The solitary defeat in that run will still rancour for Barcelona, though, as they were beaten 5-4 by Levante in a remarkable match at the end of last season - a result which denied them an Invincible campaign with just one game remaining.
Tonight could see Barca fail to win two successive games in all competitions for the first time since November 2017, although it would take a major upset from Leganes for that to be the case.
Barca have won both away games so far this season and are tonight bidding to win three in a row for the first time since January, although both away triumphs so far have been by fine one-goal margins, so they have no been completely convincing.
Considering Valverde's side finished 17 points clear of Madrid last year it is perhaps unsurprising that they also boasted the best away record in the entire division, registering the most points (42), most goals (46) and fewest defeats (1).
The importance of avoiding a second successive slip-up tonight is only heightened by the fact that Barcelona have a difficult run coming up, both domestically and in Europe.
The Blaugrana face Athletic Bilbao next, and after that the true tests really come with Valencia, Sevilla and Real Madrid - all of whom finished in the top seven last season - in their next three league games. Couple that with Champions League clashes against Spurs and Inter Milan, and it could prove to be a crucial stage of their season.
PREDICTION: Right, we're 10 minutes away from kickoff here, which means that it is time for a prediction!
It is hard to see anything other than a Barcelona win tonight. The only thing Leganes have is home advantage, but they have been in dreadful form this season and may have to go in damage limitation mode from the off.
SPORTS MOLE SAYS: Leganes 0-3 Barcelona
These two sides have met on four previous occasions before tonight, and it will not shock anyone that Barcelona have won all of them.
The four matches combined have an aggregate scoreline of 13-3 in Barca's favour, although Leganes have at least managed to score in all but one of their previous meetings with the more illustrious opponents.
The one blank they have drawn incidentally came in the corresponding fixture last season, though, with Luis Suarez helped himself to a brace before Paulinho capped off the scoring with a late third.
Barca's only other previous visit to this stadium saw them run out 5-1 winners, meaning that both of their biggest wins in this fixture have actually come away from home.
The most recent meeting between the two sides came at the Camp Nou in April, with Barcelona running out 3-1 winners on that occasion.
Leganes did push them fairly close, though, with El Zhar halving the deficit after a Messi brace and only an 87th-minute hat-trick goal from the Argentine taking the hosts out of sight.
Right, the players are out and we're almost ready to get underway now. A reminder of the team news before we do get started...
LEGANES STARTING XI: Cuellar; Juanfran, Bustinza, Tarin, Silva; Carnero, Perez, Vesga, El Zhar; Oscar, En-Nesyri
BARCELONA STARTING XI: Ter Stegen; Roberto, Pique, Umtiti, Vermaelen; Rakitic, Busquets, Coutinho; Munir, Messi, Dembele
KICKOFF: We are underway in this bottom versus top clash!
Leganes have shown one or two glimpses of attacking intent during the opening stages of the game, but it has not taken long for Barcelona to take control of possession here.
Barcelona win an early free kick, but this one is too far out for even Messi so he floats it into the box instead, which Leganes deal with.
SHOT! The first effort of the night sees Dembele collect a pass on the left channel before cutting inside and unleashing a snapshot which ripples the side-netting.
CHANCE! Half a chance for Leganes at the other end as En-Nesyr climbs well inside the area to get his head to a cross from the right. He cannot get a good enough contact on the effort, though, and it bounces harmlessly wide.
There have been one or two occasions in which a lack of quality has cost Leganes inside the Barcelona half so far tonight. The hosts are by no means sitting back and just soaking up the pressure, but they have not been able to make the most of some promising positions in the opening 10 minutes.
GOAL! LEGANES 0-1 BARCELONA (PHILIPPE COUTINHO)
GOAL! It has taken 12 minutes for Barcelona to break the deadlock, and it is a lovely goal from Coutinho!
Messi bursts into life to dart forward past a few blue and white shirts before picking out Coutinho, whose first touch is actually a little wayward as the ball pops up into the air. That allows Coutinho to take on the volley, though, and he fires it into the bottom corner from around 25 yards.
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An early breakthrough is exactly what Barcelona would have wanted tonight, and suddenly it looks like being an awfully long night for the hosts here.
Messi and Coutinho combine on the edge of the box and break into the area, but they are ultimately crowded out by a hosts of defenders back there.
OFF THE BAR! Sometimes even 10 defenders aren't enough to stop Messi. The Argentine works space to shoot here and curls one towards the top corner from outside the area which crashes against the crossbar.
SAVE! Messi looks to be in the mood for goals tonight, and he threatens again here with a low strike from Coutinho's pass which is too close to the keeper.
Here is that opening goal from Coutinho, whose volley is the difference between the two sides on the 20-minute mark...
Leganes are struggling to keep hold of the ball for any significant length of time at the moment. It is hard against Barcelona, of course, but when they do win the ball they need to use it better.
SHOT! Dembele tries his luck from range, but his effort flies a long way high and wide of the target.
SAVE! Ter Stegen is called into action for the first time tonight as a free kick is only cleared as far as Juanfran just outside the area. The full-back's shot takes a big deflection and loops towards the far corner, but Ter Stegen is there to claw it away.
CHANCE! This is another half-chance for the hosts, who are again made to rue a lack of quality. A throw-in is met by Pique, but he can only clear the ball as far as Oscar Rodriguez, who completely fluffs his volley.
Barcelona are in complete control of this match at the moment, as you would expect, but Leganes are doing a decent job of limiting the chances at the moment after that small flurry we saw earlier in the half.
En-Nesyr races clean through on goal and Pique cannot catch him, but the striker's low drive is saved by Ter Stegen. No-one realised it, but the flag was actually up so it would not have counted anyway.
This is the closest we have come to a second goal so far tonight - Messi's brilliant effort which hit the angle of post and crossbar...
Just over 10 minutes remaining in this first half now and Mauricio Pellegrino will be pretty pleased with how his side have responded to going behind to Coutinho's strike. At 1-0 they are very much in this game - as Girona showed at the weekend.
Messi turns on a sixpence which leaves him facing up the Leganes defence, but his incisive pass is just about cut out. Moments later another piece of slick passing play almost sees Messi break into the box, but the linesman's flag is up.
CHANCE! Leganes need to make more of these chances. Again this one falls to En-Nesyr, who is left completely unmarked inside the box. The cross from the right picks him out, but he has to generate all the power on his header himself and puts it straight at the keeper.
YELLOW CARD! Perez picks up the first booking of the game for a scything challenge on Messi, who is left writhing in pain on the floor.
There have been enough signs in this first half for Leganes to believe that they can get something out of this match. They have caused the visitors problems and are very much holding their own right now.
The hosts need to make the most of their chances, though, as so far the difference between the two sides has been that moment of quality in the final third from Coutinho.
SAVE! Almost a perfect end to the half for Leganes as Oscar curls a really good effort towards the top corner corner from the edge of the box, but Ter Stegen plucks it out of the air with a flying save.
HALF TIME: LEGANES 0-1 BARCELONA
The first half comes to an end at the Butarque, then, and it is Barcelona who have the lead at the halfway stage despite a decent showing from the hosts.
Leganes have created some good chances and have more than held their own against the defending champions for long spells, but they have been lacking that telling piece of quality in the final third so far.
The quality was certainly not lacking for Philippe Coutinho when he opened the scoring after just 12 minutes, making the most of a wayward first touch from Messi's pass.
The ball chipped up into the air, but Coutinho quickly adapted and fired a fine first-time volley into the corner and beyond the despairing dive of the keeper.
Barca were inches away from doubling their lead five minutes later this time through a piece of Messi magic, who rattled an effort against the woodwork with the keeper well beaten.
Messi curled one towards the top corner from around 25 yards out and it was almost perfect, but just a little too high as it crashed off the angle of post and crossbar.
Messi and Dembele have come close to further goals for Barcelona, but Leganes have not exactly been content to just sit back and on the balance of chances they could well be level at this halfway stage.
The majority of the chances have fallen the way of En-Nesyr, but the closest the hosts have come to a goal came right at the end of the half when Ter Stegen made a flying stop to deny Oscar's curling effort.
KICKOFF: Barcelona get us back underway for the second half of this match!
Messi and Coutinho have combined really well tonight, but they are missing Suarez here. Munir doesn't seem to be on the same page of them and is just a bit slow to react to everything they are trying to do.
YELLOW CARD! Bustinza goes into the book for a nasty challenge on the Achilles of Dembele.
Again Munir is not on the same wavelength as his teammates, with Messi driving forward and sneaking a pass through to the striker. However, he has gone too soon and is offside when he gets his shot away, which is saved anyway.
GOAL! LEGANES 1-1 BARCELONA (NABIL EL ZHAR)
GOAL! Well, Barcelona cannot say that they haven't been warned! Leganes level things up as they finally take one of their chances, with El Zhar nodding past Ter Stegen!
Bustinza plays a beauty of a pass out to Silva, who lofts the ball into the box for an unmarked El Zhar, who plants his header into the back of the net!
GOAL! LEGANES 2-1 BARCELONA (OSCAR RODRIGUEZ)
GOAL! Incredible scenes at the Butarque as Leganes score twice in less than two minutes to turn this game on its head!
It is more dreadful defending from Barcelona as Pique just about gets the better of En-Nasyri but then plays the ball straight into the path of Oscar, who fires his first-time finish past Ter Stegen!
Barca are shell-shocked here!
That is the second time in the space of four days that Barcelona have squandered a lead to fall 2-1 behind, and Pique really has not covered himself in glory in those games either.
Here is that El Zhar equaliser, but some even worse defending is coming right up...
...and here it is. Gerard Pique, look away now.
YELLOW CARD! Umititi goes into the book for a cynical bodycheck.
BARCELONA SUB: Time for a big-hitter off the bench as Luis Suarez replaces Munir.
SHOT! A corner is worked out to Rakitic outside the area and he lets fly, but his shot takes a deflection which makes it easy for the keeper to gather.
YELLOW CARD! Vermaelen is the latest player to be shown a yellow for a challenge on El Zhar.
CHANCE! Fine play from Juanfran as he skips into the box before playing a low ball back to En-Nesyri, but his powerful drive is deflected over the bar. Important block!
Leganes are riding a really strong wave of momentum at the moment, and they still look capable of adding to their lead at the moment, rather than just sitting back to protect it.
Barcelona's pressure is just beginning to mount again now as they take control of possession once again. Just 20 minutes left for Leganes to hold on!
BARCELONA SUBS: Double change from the visitors as Jordi Alba and Malcom replace Vermaelen and Dembele. A whole new left side, then.
Leganes have the ball up at the right end of the field as far as they are concerned, and it is now 20 minutes since the hosts took the lead. Barca have not exactly dominated since then!
LEGANES SUB: The hosts make their first change of the night and Oscar gets a standing ovation as he departs to be replaced by Gerard Gumbau.
Barcelona don't seem to have anything at the moment. Messi and Coutinho are not having the impact they were on the game anymore and it is Leganes who look like the team full of belief.
The pressure is starting to arrive from Barcelona now and Leganes could be in for a long final 10 minutes here!
CHANCE! Oh my word, this is a truly outstanding double-save from Cuellar to keep his side in front here!
Coutinho takes the ball down inside the area and tries to whip a trademark finish into the far corner, but Cuellar pulls off a stunning one-handed stop to keep it out. The ball bounces back out to Rakitic, who drills an acrobatic and powerful strike towards the roof of the net on the rebound, but Cuellar recovers to tip it over the bar!
You may not see a better double save this season!
LEGANES SUB: A second change from the hosts as Vesga is replaced by Sabin Merino.
Time continues to tick away and Leganes win a free kick after a foul by Pique. The hosts have managed this game brilliantly since taking the lead.
LEGANES SUB: Allan Nyom started the season at Championship side West Brom, and now he replaces El Zhar for a team on the verge of beating Barcelona.
SHOT! Sight of goal for the visitors late on as Messi squeezes the ball to Roberto, who lashes an effort towards goal which flashes over the crossbar.
YELLOW CARD! Nyom picks up a yellow card already for a cynical challenge on Coutinho.
Just three minutes of stoppage time separate Leganes from the biggest result in their history!
CHANCE! En-Yasyri bears down on goal after shrugging off Umtiti, but he fires straight atg Ter Stegen before running into the Barca keeper and earning a yellow card.
FULL TIME: LEGANES 2-1 BARCELONA
What a night. It is one that will live long in the memories over every Leganes fan as their team pull off arguably the biggest result in their entire history, beating Barcelona for the first time in their history having started the match bottom of the table.
The hosts came from behind to do it too, with goals from El Zhar and Oscar Rodriguez in the space of just 69 seconds cancelling out Coutinho's 12th-minute opener.
A stunning result, and it was a deserved win for the home side too. This will go down as one of the biggest shocks in recent La Liga history.
Right, that is all we have time for this evening!
Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for tonight's famous result as Leganes pick up their first ever win over Barcelona to leave the first major dent in Barca's title defence. I will leave you with our match report, and be sure to stick around for reaction too.
From me, though, it is goodbye for now!
