Barcelona will be bidding to continue their excellent form when they welcome Catalan rivals Girona to Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys on Sunday afternoon.
Blaugrana beat Osasuna 3-0 on Thursday night to move three points clear of second-placed Real Madrid at the top of the La Liga table, while Girona occupy 13th spot, boasting 34 points from their 28 league matches.
Match preview
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Barcelona made it five straight wins in all competitions with a 3-0 success over Osasuna on Thursday night, with Ferran Torres, Dani Olmo and Robert Lewandowski on the scoresheet for the Catalan giants in the rearranged fixture.
The result has moved Hansi Flick‘s side three points clear at the top of the table, but an extraordinary situation could potentially see the result overturned, with Osasuna allegedly investigating whether Inigo Martinez was ineligible for the contest.
Article 5 of FIFA regulations says that if a player withdraws from their national team due to injury, they must not play for their club team until five days after their country’s most recent game; Martinez pulled out of the La Roja squad ahead of the first leg of their UEFA Nations League quarter-final with Netherlands due to a knee issue.
However, Barcelona are believed to be confident that they had permission from Spain to play Martinez, and it would be a shock if any punishment was handed out.
Flick’s team cannot afford to take their eye off the ball at this stage of the campaign, as they will head to Atletico Madrid for the second leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final next week, with the tie delicately poised at 4-4.
Barcelona will then welcome Real Betis in La Liga before hosting Borussia Dortmund in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final on April 9, with the Catalan giants very much on for a treble this season.
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Girona, meanwhile, were last in action on March 15, playing out a 1-1 draw with Valencia, and Michel‘s side have now shared the points in each of their last three games in Spain’s top flight.
The Catalan outfit had an extraordinary 2023-24 campaign, finishing third in the table, but it has been much more difficult for the White and Reds this season, with 34 points leaving them in 13th spot in the division.
Girona are 10 points off sixth-placed Real Betis, so there will not be any European football on offer at the club next season unless something extraordinary happens in the final weeks of the campaign, and they are only seven points outside of the relegation zone.
Michel’s team are unbeaten in three, but they have only won once in all competitions since January 11, while just one victory has arrived in their last nine league matches, with five of those contests ending in defeats.
Girona have only faced Barcelona on 10 occasions throughout history, but they have posted two wins, doing a famous La Liga double over their Catalan rivals during the 2023-24 campaign.
Barcelona ran out 4-1 winners in the reverse meeting between the two sides earlier this term, though, and the hosts have averaged more than three goals per game against Girona throughout history.
Team News
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Barcelona are set to have Raphinha available for Sunday’s match, with the Brazilian missing out against Osasuna due to international commitments, and the forward is expected to return down the left.
Pau Cubarsi is also available, as the ankle injury that he suffered while representing Spain during the international break is only minor, while Ronald Araujo, who was on the bench against Osasuna, is another option at the back.
Barcelona suffered a fresh injury problem against Osasuna, with Olmo forced off in the first half of the match with an adductor issue, and the Spain international is expected to be missing for the next couple of weeks.
Lewandowski is set to return to the side after starting on the bench on Thursday night, but Andreas Christensen, Marc Casado, Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Marc Bernal remain unavailable for selection.
As for Girona, Abel Ruiz, Jhon Solis and Ivan Martin will miss the match through injury, while Donny van de Beek is suspended due to the late yellow card that he picked up against Valencia last time out.
Martin’s absence means that head coach Michel will have to make at least one change to the side that started against Los Che, with Oriol Romeu potentially being introduced to strengthen the midfield.
Cristhian Stuani has scored four times against Barcelona for Girona, and the experienced forward also netted off the bench in the draw with Valencia, so there could be a start for him through the middle here.
Barcelona possible starting lineup:
Szczesny; Kounde, Araujo, Cubarsi, Balde; De Jong, Pedri; Yamal, Gavi, Raphinha; Lewandowski
Girona possible starting lineup:
Gazzaniga; A Martinez, Blind, Kjeci, Gutierrez; Herrera, Romeu, Arthur; Tsygankov, Stuani, Danjuma
We say: Barcelona 3-1 Girona
Barcelona have scored 78 times in 28 league matches this season, and we are finding it so difficult to back against them here; Girona will certainly be the fresher of the two teams, but we are struggling to imagine a scenario which does not involve Flick’s side picking up all three points in routine fashion.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
