Barcelona vs Las Palmas

January 12, 2017
By: Milos Markovic

Fresh from their midweek Copa del Rey triumph, Barcelona are set to play host to Las Palmas in La Liga on Saturday, eager to get back to winning ways following their 1-1 draw at Villarreal last time out.

Frustrated Barcelona

The Catalans have fallen behind in the title race as Real Madrid are now five points in front their greatest rivals at the top of the standings. Luis Enrique’s men were held to a frustrated 1-1 draw at Villarreal last time out and there is no doubt that the Catalans will be looking to make a firm statement against Las Palmas at the weekend. One such statement has been made during the week when Barcelona dispatched Athletic Bilbao from the Copa del Rey and after a 3-1 win at Camp Nou. Leo Messi was the man of the hour once again as the Argentinean wizard scored a brilliant free kick to seal a win to his team, once again coming to aid after securing a point in the same manner at Villarreal. Midweek game against Bilbao saw Luis Suarez score his 100th goal for Barcelona and Brazilian Neymar finally ending the goal drought which lasted for more than 1,000 minutes.

Jasper Cillessen returned to full fitness and will compete for his place in the team with ter Stegen, whereas Jeremy Mathieu also recovered after a lengthy spell but the experienced French defender will have hard time breaking into the fold.

Prestigious Las Palmas

The lowly Spanish side Las Palmas are slowly growing into a stabile La Liga member as Qique Setien’s side continues to impress in the current season. A brace from Marko Livaja and a dying-minute goal by Garcia earned Las Palmas a prestigious Copa del Rey win over the great Atletico Madrid during the week, and although it had no competitive effect as Las Palmas were kicked out of the competition, it will have done wonders to team’s morale ahead of the trip to Barcelona. Los Amarillos will be hoping for an upset at Camp Nou as they attempt to close the gap behind Athletic Bilbao, who are three points clear of Las Palmas in seventh place in the standings. Winning at Camp Nou is farfetched, but Setien’s men have every right to dream and hope, especially as they are on a two-match winning streak. January is set to be an exciting month for Las Palmas who are making firm steps towards reinforcing their squad. West Ham’s Jonathan Calleri is believed to be set to join, whereas former Real Madrid striker Jese is keen on a move to Amarillos as well.

Sergio Araujo is out of action due to his knee injury, whereas the visitors will also be without Hernan, who sustained a pull in his calf muscle against Atletico Madrid and will be sidelined for at least two or three weeks.

Verdict

Barcelona are angry, motivated and keen to get back to winning ways, which is why we cannot dare to think past the home win in this Saturday’s matchup. The quality is on their side, crowd as well and we have no doubt the Catalans will be in for another clear-cut three points.

Top pick: Barcelona to win both halves   1.80 (4/5) @SportingBet

Alternative pick 1: Barcelona to win to Nil   1.95 (19/20) @BetVictor

Alternative pick 2: Neymar to score anytime   1.80 (4/5) @WilliamHill

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