Barcelona can cut Real Madrid’s lead at the top of La Liga to five points if they can continue their impressive unbeaten run with another victory against Las Palmas on Saturday evening. The Catalan giants haven’t lost in their last 10 matches across all competitions, and they will hope that streak extends as we enter the season run-in.
Head coach Xavi Hernandez has already announced that he won’t have Andreas Christensen at his disposal this weekend, so Sport expect the same midfield that took on Atletico Madrid two weeks ago to still be used. In total, two changes are predicted, with Joao Cancelo in for Hector Fort, and Lamine Yamal starting in place of Raphinha.
Barcelona have an 11-day gap after this match until their next, which is against Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie, so it’s understandable that he intends to play a team as strong as possible.
Las Palmas come into the one in poor form, having failed to win any of their last five matches. That has seen them slip to 11th in the table, and it doesn’t get any easier for them with the trip to Catalonia. Mika Marmol and Munir El Haddadi are both set to start against their former club, with Alex Suarez and Marvin Park coming into the team that lost against Almeria a fortnight ago.
It should be an intriguing encounter at Montjuic. Barcelona are certainly favourites, as they aim to continue their strong form, but do not discount Las Palmas – they are more than capable of turning up and orchestrating a shock.
