Back to LaLiga and the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys this Saturday as Barça take on Getafe (kickoff 4.15pm CET). After the win in Vigo and the draw in Naples, the blaugranes are in the hunt for another three points at home against a team comfortably placed in tenth position before this LaLiga season’s 26th matchday fixtures. Here are five things we’ve identified that could come into play tomorrow at Montjuïc.
Barça’s only 0-0 this season was at the Coliseum
Barça have scored at least one goal in 24 of the 25 games played this LaLiga season, with the 0-0 away to Getafe the only exception. The blaugranes went down to 10 after Raphinha was sent off and couldn’t find a way past David Soria in that game, let’s see if they can change the narrative at Montjuïc.
Up against one of the best stoppers
It won’t be easy because the keeper for the Madrid side, David Soria, has made 86 saves this season, placing him third on the ranking for most saves. Only Filip Jörgensen from Villarreal and Paulo Gazzaniga from Girona have been more effective with 97 and 88 saves respectively. For context, Ter Stegen and Iñaki Peña have made 59 saves combined (37+22 respectively).
Mayoral and headed goals the main attacking threat
One player stands out in attack for Getafe, namely Borja Mayoral. The striker from Madrid is having an outstanding season and his 15 LaLiga goals are testament to that, placing him as second top scorer in the league, just a goal behind Jude Bellingham.
A third of those 15 goals came from headers, reflecting the fact the Getafe lead the way for headed goals across the five major European leagues (14), twice Barça’s total. Mayoral’s five are complemented by two from Latasa and Maksimovic, plus one each for Carmona, Aleñá, Gastón and Mitrovic.
Few squad changes but one addition with Barça DNA
Getafe’s good first half of the season saw the management make few changes to the squad in the winter window. In came young Yellu from Valencia, but the other new face is well known to Can Barça, namely Ilaix Moriba, who of course was La Masía trained and arrived on loan from RB Leipzig to play for coach Bordalás again, having both coincided at Valencia.
The most yellow cards in LaLiga
The blaugranes need to take note in this respect, as Getafe are a team that don’t give anything away easily and fight for every loose ball. Bordalás’ team are keeping the referees busy, having picked up the most yellow cards in the competition in 86, comfortably ahead of the 75 yellow cards for Cádiz in second, while Barça are ranked 12th on the yellow card count with 57.
