Barcelona begin their La Liga title defence with a trip to Getafe on Sunday night. The Catalans are favourites to retain their title and given their dominant record against Getafe, a comfortable victory on the opening weekend could be on the cards.
Getafe had an unremarkable 2022-23 campaign as they finished in the bottom half of the table, just two points above the relegation zone. Much of their problems was down to a poor start, failing to win their opening four matches, something they will be keen to avoid this time around.
The positive thing for Getafe is that they went on a positive run in the final weeks of last season to beat the drop. This means that as it stands, Jose Bordalas’ men are unbeaten in their last four La Liga matches, claiming two wins in that run.
While Getafe will be keen to carry over that run into the new campaign, they looked a bit erratic in preseason. Geta Azulones head into Sunday’s opener of the back of two defeats in their last three matches, although they claimed a 4-1 victory over Dutch side Vitesse in their final warm up fixture.
Barcelona’s title run last term was surprisingly comfortable as driven by the meanest defence in the league, they won the title with four games to spare. As a result, they were in celebratory mood in the final weeks of the season and ended the campaign with three defeats in their final four La Liga matches.
Having held on to most of their key players from last season, Barcelona are widely considered favourites to retain the La Liga title. They have even strengthened in the transfer window, acquiring Manchester City’s treble winning captain Ilkay Gundogan and centre-back Inigo Martinez from Athletic Bilbao.
Barcelona enjoyed a solid preseason campaign, claiming four wins from five matches. Xavi’s men overcame the likes of Real Madrid and AC Milan before claiming a 4-2 victory over English side Tottenham Hotspur in their final warm-up fixture.
How the bookies view it
Barcelona have been installed as overwhelming favourites among the bookies and are priced at 4/7 by bet365 to claim the win. Getafe are considered outsiders at home with BoyleSports offering odds of 5/1 for a win while a draw is set at odds of 3/1 by Paddy Power.
Head to head
Barcelona have a 28-4 advantage with eight draws from 40 precious matches against Getafe. The Catalans are unbeaten in the last five meetings, although they were held to a 0-0 draw on their last visit to the Coliseum Alfonso Perez back in April.
Players to watch
Barcelona conceded the fewest goals in La Liga last season and have gone on to strengthen their backline with the acquisition of central defender Inigo Martinez. They have kept clean sheets in the last three meetings with Getafe and could be backed for a repeat at evens with Coral.
At the other end of the pitch, Robert Lewandowski settled quickly to life in Spain last season and ultimately emerged La Liga top scorer. The striker will be hoping to hit the ground running once again and is priced at 21/20 by bet365 to find the net on Sunday.
Anything else catch the eye?
Given Barcelona’s defensive record in this fixture, a win to nil could be on the cards at 29/20 with BetVictor. Their impressive attacking prowess means a -1 handicap can also be considered at odds of 7/4 with Betfred.
Barcelona are also expected to flex their attacking muscles on Sunday and can be backed to score in both halves at 7/4 with Coral.
This La Liga match between Getafe and Barcelona will be played on Aug 13, 2023 and kick off at 20:30. Check below for our tipsters best Getafe vs Barcelona prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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