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Barcelona and Getafe – 5 month ago
The two sides met on the 12th of September 2009 in the early stages of La Liga’s first half, but true to form, it was the Catalans who emerged triumphant owing to goals from Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and Lionel Messi.
That encounter was played at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez, and despite the fact that Barcelona were playing away from home, they were still competent enough to defend their goal lines and rule over their opponents.
Barcelona and Getafe – Saturday’s show
Now, in the first La Liga match-day of February, the two clubs are up against each other again, and the winner of the match will be receiving a substantial reward in terms of positions in the league standings.
Barcelona
Barcelona – the home team in this weekend’s exciting game taking place in Cataluña – still maintain their 5-point lead at the top of the table; taking the edge over second place Real Madrid. The Blaugrana get in action before Los Blancos, so eventually, a win for them would add 3 more points to the tally; widening the gap at the top to 8 points temporarily.
Barcelona’s game away to Sporting Gijon last weekend raised a few debates among football fans who described Barca’s 1-0 victory as a controversial one; following Pedro’s notorious goal from an exceedingly quick free-kick.
Their clash against potent side Getafe on Saturday might therefore be used by Coach Pep Guardiola to convince the public that no matter what, Barcelona still deserve their comfortable lead in the standings, and that winning is still a tradition for them.
Barcelona are likely to throw out their best players on the field by lining-up star player Lionel Messi, as well as midfield experts Andres Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez. Striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic will however be chasing his previous good form, as he has not been able to get the ball at the back of the net in 9 matches for Barca (all competitions).
Getafe
The Castellan club is currently in 7th position in the league table with 31 points. They are 3 points off the Europa League zone, but they could catch up through their challenge away to the Camp Nou.
Getafe won only 2 of their last 5 league encounters, and this shows how instable the team has been this year. They have a very busy month ahead of them, and regrettably, time has pushed them to the test by putting them against the league leaders Barcelona.
Despite everything, the Azulones will need to put their 2-0 Copa del Rey defeat against Sevilla in midweek behind them, in order to remain focus on the demanding task which they are facing at the moment.
Should things go badly for Getafe, they could go down to the 9th place – watching their dream of playing in Europe next season fading out.
La Liga Standings (Top 5) – February 04, 2010
Barcelona – 52 points
Real Madrid – 47 points
Valencia – 39 points
Sevilla – 36 points
Mallorca – 34 points
