Getafe v Barça: Match preview

FC Barcelona start the new year with what is never an easy trip to the Coliseum Alfonso Pérez, home of Getafe, a side that teams are finding it very hard to score against this term.

It’s an 8.45pm kick off local time, while this guide will not only help you to work out what time that is where you are, but also to find out which channels might be showing the game.

It’s the first of potentially nine fixtures for Barça in a hectic January where they’ll be looking to continue their excellent form in the run-up to the winter break that saw them return to the top of the table and hold onto that position in a confident manner.

The opponent

Top goalscorer: Molina (5 goals).

Coach: José Bordalás Jiménez.

Position: 7^th, following 6 wins, 7 draws and 4 defeats.

This way for a more complete lowdown on Getafe CF.

Key stats

- FC Barcelona have won more games, nine, at the Coliseum Alfonso Pérez than any other visiting side in La Liga.

- In that last 13 years, Barça have only lost their opening game of the year once. The other 12 games have resulted in seven wins and four draws.

- Five of the last six visits to Getafe have seen Barça keeping clean sheets.

- Lionel Messi has scored 12 goals in his last 15 games against Getafe. The Argentinian is also looking to become Barça’s first league goalscorer in a calendar year for the fourth time in a row.

- Barça are just two games away from matching their all-time record of 32 away games scoring at least one goal.

- In eight of the nine seasons in which FC Barcelona have won at the Coliseum, they have gone on to win the league title.

- Ernesto Valverde has won 13 of his 17 league encounters with Getafe, but insists that the side from southern Madrid “is a tough team that generates very intense pressure up front and that is deservedly in contention for a place in Europe. It’s always discomforting to play against them.”

- The last meeting between the sides was at the camp Nou and ended in a 0-0 draw, while the away fixture last season saw Denis Suárez and Paulinho sealing a remarkable comeback.

The squad

Jeison Murillo has been named in the squad after arriving on loan over the festive break. Malcom and Sergi Roberto have both fully recovered from injury and are also in the travelling party.

Valverde is still waiting on Umtiti, Samper, Vermalen and Rafinha, while Munir also misses out on the game.

The full squad reads as follows: Ter Stegen, N. Semedo, Piqué, I. Raktic, Sergio, Denis Suárez, Coutinho, Arthur, Suárez, Messi, O. Dembélé, Cillessen, Malcom, Lenglet, Murillo, Jordi Alba, S. Roberto, Aleñá and Vidal.