The race for the title and also the top four looks very exciting in Spain this season and we have a meeting between the 2nd and 3rd placed teams to enjoy on Saturday.
Both of the teams involved would not have expected to be in their current position, with Barcelona in 2nd place with the expectation of being 1st while their opponents, Getafe, are exceeding expectations by being in 3rd place in La Liga.
Only 7 points split the two teams and Barcelona will be hoping to extend that to 10 points by winning this game. They come into the match having won 3-2 at Real Betis last weekend.
Barcelona were behind twice during the match but scored the winning goal in the 72nd minute to take maximum points. it was an important victory following the 1-0 defeat at Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey quarter-final.
Barcelona have won 3 of their last 4 league games with victories coming against Granada and Levate at home in addition to the win at Real Betis last weekend. They have won 3 consecutive home games in La Liga and Barcelona are undefeated in their last 23 home league matches.
Trends show Barcelona have scored 2 or more goals in 10 of their last 12 home La Liga games. In 7 of those 12 matches Barcelona have scored 3 or more goals but they have kept just two clean sheets in their last 7 La Liga matches at the Camp Nou.
Getafe travel to Barcelona having defeated Valencia 3-0 at home last weekend to continue their impressive run of form in La Liga. That was their 4th league win in succession having previously defeated Real Betis at home plus Levante and Athletic Bilbao away. In fact, Getafe have lost only two of their last 13 La Liga games and one of those losses came away from home.
However, Getafe have lost only one of their last 6 away league games. They have defeated Celta Vigo, Eibar, Leganes and Athletic Bilbao on the road. The single defeat came at Villarreal and that is the only time in their last 6 away games that Getafe failed to find the back of the net. Getafe have also managed to keep a clean sheet in each of their last 4 La Liga games but that is going to be tough to replicate in this match.
Looking ahead to the team news and Barcelona will be without Ousmane Dembélé for the remainder of the season and he joins Luis Suarez on the treatment table. Clement Lenglet is suspended while Gerard Piqué and Neto are fitness doubts.
Getafe will be without defender Damian Suarez who is suspended for this game and he will be a big miss. Reserve goalkeeper Filip Manojlovic is a doubt due to a back injury.
Getafe struggled when they met Real Madrid at the beginning of January and also lost the reverse fixture against Barcelona. This suggests they could be in for a difficult time at the Camp Nou and although Getafe may score a goal, we expect Barcelona to come through and win the match.