Barcelona will be attempting to make it back-to-back wins for the first time this season when they travel to Getafe in La Liga on Saturday afternoon.
The Spanish champions beat Villarreal on Tuesday night to move into fifth position in the table, while Getafe currently sit 10th with seven points to show from their first six matches of the 2019-20 campaign.
Getafe
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Getafe have been the draw specialists this season - sharing the points in four of their six La Liga matches. The capital side have only lost once, but just one victory sees them occupy 10th spot in the table with seven points ahead of this weekend's clash with the Spanish champions.
Last season was spectacular for Getafe as they finished fifth in La Liga. Jose Bordalas's side actually launched a serious challenge for fourth position but ultimately fell just short of Valencia. It was still a special campaign, though, as they secured automatic qualification for the Europa League.
It remains to be seen how the head coach balances La Liga and the Europa League this season, but Getafe beat Trabzonspor 1-0 last week in what was their first European match in little under nine years.
In terms of the league, the Madrid outfit opened their campaign with a 1-0 loss at Atletico Madrid on August 18, before drawing their next three - all 1-1 – against Athletic Bilbao, Alaves and Real Betis. Their first league win of the season came last weekend, though, as they recorded a 4-2 victory at home to Mallorca.
Bordalas's side then picked up a point away to Valencia on Wednesday night; Los Che actually led 3-1 until the 66th minute of the clash at the Mestalla, but goals from Jason and Angel saw the visitors to claim a 3-3 draw.
Getafe will need to start winning if they are to seriously challenge for a top-four spot once again. That said, just four points separate them from fourth-placed Granada as it stands, which is an indication of the type of start that it has been to the new campaign - plenty of teams dropping plenty of points.
It is a vital period of the season for Getafe considering that they will travel to Russia to face Krasnodar in the Europa League on Thursday before visiting Real Sociedad in La Liga on Sunday night. While competing in Europe is their reward for last season, Bordalas will be wary of fatigue due to his relatively small squad.
Barca might not be in the best place at the moment, but the Catalan giants have not lost to Getafe in the league since November 2011. Indeed, both games last season ended in wins for the champions, although the capital outfit picked up a point in this fixture as recently as February 2018.
Recent form: LDDDWD
Recent form (all competitions): DDDWWD
Barcelona
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Barca returned to winning ways on Tuesday night with goals from Antoine Griezmann and Arthur handing them a 2-1 victory over Villarreal. The success came at a cost, though, with Lionel Messi picking up another injury which saw the Argentina international replaced at the interval.
Messi was making his first start of the 2019-20 campaign after battling back from a calf problem, but the attacker picked up an adductor issue which led to his withdrawal. Barca have not officially ruled Messi out of this match, but reports in Spain have suggested that he will miss their next three fixtures.
There were signs that it could be a tough start to the season when Valverde's side suffered a 1-0 loss at Athletic Bilbao in their La Liga opener. A 5-2 home win over Real Betis followed, but they were then held at Osasuna in their last match before the September international break.
Barca put five past Valencia at Camp Nou on September 14, but their away problems were there for all to see in their next two as they struggled to a 0-0 draw against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League before losing 2-0 at Granada in the league last weekend.
Tuesday's win over Villarreal brought three much-needed points, but it was another slog for the Catalan outfit. Ansu Fati has been one of the big positives with the 16-year-old becoming a first-team star, but too many of their key players have underperformed thus far.
With Messi, Barca are capable of challenging for all of the major honours once again. However, it is difficult to imagine Valverde's side launching a battle on all fronts if they cannot call upon their star player. Even if the South American's groin issue is not serious, the volume of his muscular injuries will be a huge concern.
The Catalan giants just cannot afford to dwell on Messi's issues, though, as they follow this weekend's tough fixture in Madrid by hosting Inter Milan in the Champions League on Wednesday night. Sevilla will then visit Camp Nou in the league next weekend as the big matches continue to arrive.
What's more, for all of the criticism that has come their way in the early stages of the season, Valverde's side are only four points off league leaders Real Madrid heading into Week Seven, which is far from a disastrous scenario.
Recent form: LWDW
Recent form (all competitions): LWDWD
Team News
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Getafe will once again be without the services of injured trio Amath Ndiaye, Filip Manojlovic and Vitorino Antunes, but the capital side did not suffer any fresh setbacks in the clash with Valencia.
Angel has come off the bench to score in Getafe's last two league matches, while he also netted the winner against Trabzonspor in the Europa League.
Jorge Molina and Jaime Mata again started as the front two against Valencia, though, and that could well be the case this weekend.
Marc Cucurella is on loan with Getafe from Barca, but there is no clause making the 21-year-old ineligible this weekend, and therefore the tricky winger is expected to feature for the home side.
As for Barca, Ousmane Dembele made his recovery from a hamstring problem as a half-time substitute in Tuesday's narrow win over Villarreal, replacing Messi, who is unlikely to feature this weekend.
As a result, the France international could be in line to join Luis Suarez and Antoine Griezmann in the final third of the field, while Frenkie de Jong is also expected to return to the middle of the park.
Arthur's goal against the Yellow Submarine could be enough to see the Brazil international keep his spot in the middle of the park.
Elsewhere, Samuel Umtiti and Jordi Alba are still on the sidelines with foot and hamstring injuries respectively. As a result, Junior Firpo is once again expected to line up at left-back after a solid performance against Villarreal.
Getafe possible starting lineup:
Soria; Damian, Dakonam, Cabrera, Nyom; Jason, Arambarri, Maksimovic, Cucurella; Molina, Mata
Barcelona possible starting lineup:
Ter Stegen; Semedo, Pique, Lenglet, Firpo; De Jong, Busquets, Arthur; Dembele, L Suarez, Griezmann
Head To Head
Barca won both La Liga matches between the two teams last season – following a 2-1 victory away from home with a 2-0 success at Camp Nou.
The Catalan giants have actually been victorious in each of their last three visits to Getafe in the league, with their last dropped points occurring in December 2014.
As mentioned above, it has been a fixture dominated by Barca, with Getafe failing to record a victory since November 2011 - Juan Valera scoring the only goal of that particular match against a side that included the likes of Carlos Puyol, Xavi and David Villa.
We say: Getafe 1-2 Barcelona
Getafe have been the draw specialists this season, while Barca are yet to record an away victory on their travels during the 2019-20 campaign. Without Messi, the Spanish champions face a huge task, but we just fancy Valverde's side to have enough to pick up what would be an important three points.
Matt Law
