After enduring a stuttering end to 2023, Barcelona will look to kick off 2024 with a win when they face mid-table Las Palmas in a La Liga showdown at Estadio Gran Canaria on Thursday night.
Defending champions Barcelona travel to newly-promoted UD Las Palmas on Matchday 19 of the 2023/24 La Liga season, with Xavi Hernandez’s side at serious risk of relinquishing their La Liga crown.
There has been almost constant talk of Xavi Hernandez being under pressure, and that chatter will only ramp up if they slip further from the top two of La Liga. After 18 matches, the holders are seven points behind this season’s pacesetters, Real Madrid and Girona, meaning a title defence is looking more and more unlikely.
They barely got over the line against bottom-of-the-table Almeria to round off the year. And to start 2024, they face a difficult away trip to Estadio Gran Canaria, where Atletico Madrid crumbled earlier in the season.
As for newly-promoted Las Palmas, although they ended 2023 with a defeat to Athletic Club, Garcia Pimienta’s side have performed above expectations in La Liga this season, picking up 25 points from 18 matches to sit in the tenth spot in the table. They are only seven points adrift of a European spot and are as many as 12 points above the relegation zone.
The last time these two sides met each other was in March 2018, when Las Palmas held Barcelona to a credible 1-1 draw. Ahead of their latest meeting, The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the encounter.
Team News & Tactics
UD Las Palmas
Las Palmas are unable to call upon midfielder Alberto Moleiro, who was forced off at half-time against Cadiz due to a shoulder problem. Fabio Gonzalez remains sidelined with an ankle problem, while Equatorial Guinea international defender Saul Coco will play his final game before flying away for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations in the Ivory Coast.
Barcelona loanee Julian Araujo is ineligible to face his parent club due to a clause in his loan agreement. Alex Suarez is therefore expected to come on the right side of defence. But it could otherwise be the same XI that took to the field for the first whistle of the one-goal defeat against Athletic Club last time out.
Maximo Perrone and Javier Munoz will provide the steel in midfield, aiming to absorb the pressure created by the Barcelona attack before relaying the ball out front, where Kirian Rodriguez will be the creative force for the hosts. Upfront, Sandro Ramirez and Marvin Park will team up with striker Munir El Haddadi, who has only one La Liga goal to his name so far this season.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Valles; Suarez, Coco, Marmol, Cardona; Munoz, Perrone, Rodriguez; Park, Munir, Sandro
Barcelona
Barcelona are set to be without as many as five players when they make the trip to Gran Canaria for Thursday’s La Liga clash with Las Palmas. Pedri suffered yet another injury setback before Christmas and is set to be out until mid-January with a muscle problem. The Spain international is joined on the treatment table by the likes of Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Inigo Martinez, Marcos Alonso, and Gavi.
Inaki Pena will remain in goal in ter Stegen’s absence. Ronald Araujo will line up alongside Jules Kounde at the heart of the Barcelona defence, flanked by marauding full-backs Joao Cancelo and Alejandro Balde.
Frenkie de Jong will return from his one-match suspension after picking up his fifth booking of the season. The Netherlands international is likely to come into the side instead of Oriol Romeu to feature in midfield alongside Ilkay Gundogan and Sergi Roberto.
Joao Felix and Raphinha are set to retain their places in the front three, where they will offer support to veteran forward Robert Lewandowski. Barcelona have recently brought Vitor Roque to the club, with the teenage Brazilian expected to be Lewandowski’s long-term successor. The Brazilian attacker could make his bow off the bench if he is registered in time for the trip to Gran Canaria.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Pena; Cancelo, Araujo, Kounde, Balde; Roberto, De Jong, Gundogan; Raphinha, Lewandowski, Felix
Key Stats
- Barcelona have failed to win four of their last five La Liga games away from home (D4).
- Las Palmas are on a three-game unbeaten streak at home in La Liga.
- Both teams have scored in four of Barcelona’s last five La Liga road matches.
- Las Palmas have scored at least two goals in three of their last five La Liga home games.
- Barcelona have conceded 21 goals in 18 La Liga games this season.
Player to Watch
Robert Lewandowski
Enjoying initial fine form when he signed for the Catalans in the summer of 2022, the 34-year-old is struggling in his sophomore season while in sixth place in the La Liga top scorer rankings with eight goals this term. For anyone else, that is a respectable return. But for a world-class striker like Lewandowski, it is a proper lull.
He is now in a mini-drought, with just one goal in his last eight games for the club. Indeed, stretches like this do not happen for the veteran front-man, and he will look to bounce back strongly with a goal or two here.
Prediction
UD Las Palmas 0-1 Barcelona
Matches involving Las Palmas this season have not exactly been high-scoring contests, and we are expecting another tight game on Thursday, albeit against a high-calibre opponent. Barcelona have made it hard work to see out results even in lopsided games.
Los Amarillos will make full use of home advantage and make a real game out of it. But the visitors should have enough quality to find a goal at some stage of the contest. The Hard Tackle predicts a 1-0 win for Xavi Hernandez and his charges.
