Five things about Las Palmas v Barça
Top spot achieved once again for FC Barcelona in LaLiga. However, the blaugranes need to get as many points as possible from the 14 remaining games to have a chance of ending in that privileged position. First up is an away match at the Unión Deportiva Las Palmas stadium on 22 February (kick-off 9.00pm CET) to fulfil the game week 25 fixture. Let's take a look at the peculiarities and facts gleaned from the data ahead of the match.
39 years unbeaten
You have to go back to 16 February 1986 to find the last time Barça lost at the Gran Canaria Stadium in LaLiga, when they lost 3-0 under coach Terry Venables. Barça have played there eight times since and haven't lost any (five wins and three draws). It's their best unbeaten away run against the Gran Canaria side in the history of the league.
104 days without an away defeat
The last time Hansi Flick and the team lost away from home was on 10 November, going down 1-0 to Real Sociedad at the Reale Arena (1-0). The Catalans have played nine away games since that night, losing none. There have been six wins and three draws, including scoring 31 goals (3.44 per game). It's worth noting that this is the blaugranes' best run since 2022, when they earned 12 wins and three draws from January to September.
Another for Lewandowski to tick off the list
We already know that Robert Lewandowski is in lethal form. Barça's number nine is leading the way on the "Pichichi" goalscoring charts, but he has also notably scored against 20 of the 23 sides he has faced in LaLiga as a blaugrana player. However, UD Las Palmas are one of the three he hasn't scored against – Almería and Leganés are the other two – so he has another chance to tick the Canary Islanders off his list.
Flick never falls to the same team twice
The blaugranes may have lost the home match against the Canary Islanders at Montjuïc (1-2), but the data shows there is cause for optimism, as coach Hansi Flick has never lost two games to the same team in one season across his entire career. So if things carry on the same, Barça will come away with something from the Canary Islands.
Diego Martínez, a tough opponent
Las Palmas coach Diego Martínez has become a bit of headache for Barça in recent years. The Galician has faced the blaugranes six times in LaLiga (with Granada, Espanyol, and UD Las Palmas), managing to take something away from half of those games (two wins and a draw). In fact, only Carlo Ancelotti has beaten the blaugranes more in the competition (four) since the 2019/20 season.