PREVIEW | FC Barcelona v Las Palmas

It's no ordinary game today at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys. FC Barcelona welcome Las Palmas on a day where there is not just an important football match to be played, but also the continuation of the 125th anniversary celebrations, which were opened in such spectacular fashion by Friday night's gala at the Gran Teatre del Liceu. 

As well as the game, fans coming to Montjuïc can also enjoy their first meeting with the new mascot CAT, listen to a performance of the L'Escut al Pit, the winning entry in the contest to compose a song for the anniversary, and who knows what other surprises might be in store?

The game itself kicks off at the unusually early time of 2pm CET, and as usual we have a guide to the times and broadcasters in other regions of the world.

How things stand

But for Hansi Flick and his charges, they need to shut all the distractions out of their minds and instead concentrate on the important task at hand. After losing to Real Sociedad and then drawing in such frustrating fashion at Celta, five out of a possible six points have been dropped in their last two outings. They are still sat on top of the Liga table, but it's not quite the same runaway lead that it was early in the month.

A win today would send Barça seven points clear of second placed Real Madrid, but the all-whites would have two games in hand, their match at home to Getafe on Sunday and the trip to Valencia that was cancelled in the wake of the devastating floods.

Team news

There was some good news from the treatment room this week, with both Lamine Yamal and Ferran Torres declared back to full fitness and included in the 23-man squad for this game. It remains to be seen whether either of them will actually get to start the match, but even if they don't, they may well feature later on in the proceedings. 

Ronald Araujo has also been making good progress but is still not ready to return to active duty, and Barça are also missing Ansu Fati, Marc Bernal, Andreas Christensen and Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

In contrast, Las Palmas seem to be coming without any injury concerns at all. The game also means homecomings for Jasper Cillessen, Mika Mármol, Sandro Ramírez and Marc Cardona, four former Barça men who are now playing their trade in the Canary Islands.

Las Palmas improving

On paper, this is a very winnable fixture indeed. Barça are unbeaten against Las Palmas in 16 matches and the Canary Islanders started the season in dismal fashion without a single win in their first nine matches. However, a change of manager was ordered and under Diego Martínez things have certainly improved. After his first five games in charge, they have collected three wins (over Valencia, Girona and Rayo Vallecano) and moved out of the relegation table. So let's not be fooled by their lowly position. Las Palmas are a team on the up and need to be taken very seriously indeed, especially after the disappointment of the last twio league fixtures.