Barcelona will be looking to put their first league defeat of the season behind them as they host Las Palmas at Camp Nou at the weekend.
The La Liga newcomers come into the fixture in a good run of form though, losing just one of their last four outings.
Barcelona
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The reigning Spanish champions lost their hold at the top of the table during the midweek round of fixtures as Barcelona suffered their heaviest defeat under Luis Enrique, losing 4-1 to Celta Vigo at Balaidos, dropping them down to fifth in the standings.
With a 100% record from their opening four fixtures of the campaign though, the Catalan side are just a point adrift of leaders Real Madrid.
Letting in four goals in the midweek loss has hurt Barcelona's defensive record. They had let in just two goals prior to their last match, but they have now conceded six – more than half of the other sides in La Liga have let in fewer.
Barcelona remain one of the strongest teams in the league going forward though, having scored nine times in their first five matches, scoring at least once in every match so far.
Brazilian striker Neymar netted his third goal of the league season last night, making him the club's joint top scorer so far this season, alongside Lionel Messi. Enrique had expressed his fears that it would take the forward a while to return to his peak following a bout of mumps at the start of the season, but he appears to have put the illness behind him quickly.
With Barcelona having played Levante on Sunday, this will be the team's third league match in seven days, and comes just three days ahead of their second Champions League group stage fixture against Bayer Leverkusen.
Recent form: DWWWWL
Recent form (all competitions): WWWDWL
Las Palmas
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Las Palmas head into this match with five points from their first five fixtures since winning promotion from the Segunda Division, having claimed their first victory last time out.
The Gran Canaria side stunned Sevilla 2-0 thanks to goals from Roque Mesa and Antolin Alcaraz, moving the side up to 12th in the table.
The result leaves Paco Herrera's side with just one loss in their last four outings, having suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat to Rayo Vallecano last weekend.
The newly-promoted side have certainly shown plenty of fight against the established La Liga teams this season. They played the majority of their match against Celta Vigo a man short earlier this month, but scored twice in the last half-hour to come from behind to earn a 3-3 draw.
Despite having just one win so far this season, Las Palmas have been solid at the back, keeping two clean sheets while conceding five goals, giving them a stronger record than the likes of Sevilla, Athletic Bilbao and this weekend's opponents Barcelona.
Scoring has been a bit of a problem though, with the team failing to find the back of the net in three of their fixtures so far. Summer signings Jonathan Viera and Wakaso Mubarak are yet to open their accounts for the club.
Recent form: DLDDLW
Recent form (all competitions): WLDDLW
Team News
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The home side will be without a number of players as Rafinha, Thomas Vermaelen, Claudio Bravo are all still battling injuries.
Jordi Alba also missed the defeat to Celta Vigo after picking up a neck injury while Sandro Ramirez sat out with a bruised leg, casting a doubt over their availability for the weekend fixture.
However, Douglas was fit enough to be included on the bench following a two-month absence, so could feature this weekend.
For the visitors, Angel Lopez and Javi Castilian are both long-term injury absentees, but Tana could be ready to return after picking up knock earlier this month.
Barcelona possible starting lineup:
Ter Stegen, Pique, Alves, Mascherano, Bartra, Rakitic, Iniesta, Busquets, Suarez, Messi, Neymar
Las Palmas possible starting lineup:
Varas, Simon, Alcaraz, Oliva, Bigas, Castellano, Wakaso, Hernan, Mesa, El Zhar, Araujo
Head To Head
This will be just the fifth meeting between the two sides, with Las Palmas's only previous matches against Barcelona coming in their two-season stint in the top flight between 2000 and 2002.
Barcelona have never lost to Las Palmas, winning their first two matches against the Canary Island side before sharing draws in their two meetings in the 2001-02 campaign.
Barcelona have only netted more than a single goal against Las Palmas in one of their previous fixtures, securing a 4-1 win in their first victory at Camp Nou. However, they have only failed to score in one of their previous encounters.
We say: Barcelona 3-0 Las Palmas
Barcelona proved that they are fallible in their last outing, but Enrique will be wary of giving title rivals like Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid much of a lead at the top of the table. Having seen Las Palmas beat Sevilla last time out, the hosts will be wary of resting players against the newly-promoted side, but should have plenty to secure the win with their regular starters. Being back at Camp Nou should also help the reigning champions.
Sian Cowper
