Grenada V Barcelona
Saturday 21st September 2019 -20:00 Kick-Off
Spanish La Liga
Pick: Over 3.5 Goals
Odds: 31/20
Bookmaker: Betfair
 |
1 | X | 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 33/4 | 9/2 | 8/25 |
* (All betting odds displayed were correct as of 19th September 2019 at 13:30)
Preview: The league champions in Spain, Barcelona, return to domestic action this weekend and will hope to kick on following a surprisingly slow start to the season. Barca have taken seven points from a possible twelve, which is as many as their upcoming opponents have managed as Granada have a rare opportunity to leapfrog their illustrious opponents should they clinch victory at their Nuevo Los Carmenes stadium.
Spanish Football Betting – 22Bet
Granada Preview – El Grana to cause huge upset in search of third straight win?
Many might have been anticipating a struggle initially upon returning to the Spanish top-light for the first time since 2016/17, but Granada have exceeded most expectations at this stage to register a healthy seven points from their opening four encounters (W2 D1 L1) – which is a record identical to their opponents, Barca. Manager Diego Martinez has also overseen a very potent side, one which has struck nine times already. So ‘El Grana’ could be primed to cause a few problems for their glamorous visitors.
For an opening salvo, scoring four in a 4-4 draw away to Villarreal on the opening weekend has to be right up there. To follow that up with a narrow defeat at home Sevilla would have been slightly disappointing, although not entirely unexpected considering the class of that particular opponent, but the response to that early setback was admirable. They have since recorded back-to-back victories, both on the road, against Espanyol (0-3) and Celta Vigo (0-2).
However, this challenge is a step up again, facing the defending league champions and a team they have only managed to record one win against in twelve previous meetings (W1 L11) – and that was a 1-0 success at home way back in 2014. Granada did possess a decent enough record on home soil last season, though, albeit against inferior opposition from the league below: W13 D6 L2, GF28 GA12.
Barcelona Preview – Messi to inspire Barca revival?
Last season was spent almost exclusively in cruise control, comfortably sealing a 26th La Liga title as they finished eleven points clear of the rest of the league. This new season may only be four games old but already the signs are ominously apparent that Barcelona are unlikely to have matters all their own way this time around. The club sit in fifth-place ahead of this week’s games (W2 D1 L1) and the hope is that Messi can once again be the saviour.
Injury has deprived the Catalans of their best player, which should be taken into account. The superhuman Lionel Messi would feature as a second half substitute in Tuesday’s Champions League clash in Germany but was unable to inspire his team-mates, who were thoroughly outplayed by Borussia Dortmund throughout. The final outcome, a goalless draw, was incredibly flattering on Barcelona (xG: DOR 3.33 – BAR 0.39).
The most worrying aspect to that poor midweek display was it wasn’t isolated. At home, Ernesto Valverde’s side have been impressive without being immaculate, recording successive 5-2 scorelines versus Real Betis and Valencia, but it is on their travels where they continue to massively underperform. They were extremely fortunate to earn a 2-2 draw in their most recent away outing in the league, at Osasuna, but earned nothing first time out at Athletic Bilbao (1-0).
Only deemed fit enough for a 30-minute cameo in midweek, Barca could seriously do with their Argentinian maestro featuring from the outset here, even if this fixture has been fruitful down the years. The Blaugrana are seeking a seventh consecutive victory over this opponent, dominating the head-to-head with 11 wins from 12 previous meetings (W11 L1).
Granada V Barcelona Key Facts:
- These teams have identical records after four league games played (W2 D1 L1).
- Barcelona‘s last three La Liga games have produced a minimum of four match goals.
- The previous six meetings between these two clubs were all won by Barcelona, who have a dominant head-to-head with Granada having won 11 of 12 previous encounters.
Betting Summary
Granada have earned the right to be quietly optimistic ahead of this clash. A hard-fought 2-0 victory away to Celta Vigo last week made it two wins in consecutive fashion, having impressively beaten Espanyol 3-0 away from home before the international break. Those results went some way for making up for their 1-0 loss at home to Sevilla in their only home fixture so far.
Things should improve, and we will probably witness said improvements imminently now that Lionel Messi is back in the fold, but Barcelona have been surprisingly lacklustre up until now. Tuesday’s performance in Dortmund was awful and not too dissimilar from their away performances in the league, to which they remain winless in said fixtures following clashes with Athletic Bilbao (L1-0) and Osaunsa (2-2).
Barcelona have kept just one clean sheet this season – which was that fortuitous 0-0 draw on Tuesday against Borussia Dortmund – and have conceded exactly two goals in each of their previous three La Liga fixtures. So there is definitely some mileage in the idea that a Granada outfit which has played progressively, and scored nine time across their four league games, can get some joy out of this porous Barca rearguard. There should be a fair few goals if true to form.
