PREVIEW: Getafe v FC Barcelona

2025 has been a fantastic year so far. Not only have FC Barcelona been to Saudi Arabia and won the Spanish Super Cup, including an emphatic 5-2 victory over Real Madrid in the final, but they have also successfully negotiated their way into the quarter finals of the Copa del Rey, first seeing off lower league Barbastro and then showing that the events in Jeddah were no flash-in-the-pan by thumping Real Betis to the tune of a 5-1 win, and playing more champagne football in the process.

So good have things been since the Christmas break that it's easy to forget the dismal run of results to close the league campaign in 2024. Barça have only won one of their last seven games, a negative streak that means that after setting up a commanding lead, they have now slumped to third in the table.

Scores to settle

Hopefully the great form in the two cups can be transferred to the league, where Saturday at 9pm brings a theoretically very winnable fixture away to Getafe, currently fifteenth in the table and just three points clear of the relegation zone.

However, Barça would be well-advised not to be complacent. Indeed, while the team has risen to the big occasions this season, it has been against struggling clubs where the results have not been so pretty. Both Las Palmas and Leganés picked up highly unexpected wins at the Estadi Olímpic, and Saturday's destination has not been a happy hunting ground in recent season.

Extraordinarily, not only have Barça not won on any of their last four visits to the Coliseum, but they have not even scored a goal. A 1-0 defeat four seasons ago has been followed by three 0-0 draws.

Happening elsewhere

Barça can't afford any more slips like that, because they are now six points adrift of leaders Atlético Madrid and five behind Real (all teams have now played the same number of games).

Atlético will have already played their derby away to Leganés earlier on Saturday, while Real Madrid are at home to Las Palmas on Sunday. Barça also now have Athletic Club just two points behind them. The Basques visit Celta Vigo on Sunday.

Team news

The good news is that other than Marc Andre ter Stegen and Marc Barnal, neither of whom are likely to play any further part in this season, Hansi Flick has an almost full team at his disposal. Andreas Christensen has finally been passed as match fit, but Iñigo Martinez picked up an injury in Jeddah that thankfully isn't too serious and he should be back fairly soon.

Another of the doubts concerns the goalkeeping role. Wojciech Szczęsny was offered a chance to show his worth in the Copa del Rey and Spanish Super Cup and thoroughly impressed. But after the Pole was red-carded against Real Madrid, Iñaki Peña resumed his earlier duties and reminded us of his own qualities. Hansi Flick has some difficult thinking to do!

Hansi says

There's a big Champions League coming up midweek, but the Barça coach insists that he is not getting side-tracked by thoughts of the European campaign. "We have a lot of big games in the next few weeks" told his pre-game conference. "But we are only thinking about the next one. First we have to beat Getafe and then we'll think about Benfica."