Barcelona will be looking to record their third straight win

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Barcelona will be looking to record their third straight win in all competitions when they make the trip to Estadio Nuevo Los Carmenes on Saturday to take on Granada. The Catalan giants are currently fifth in the La Liga table, one point behind fourth-placed Atletico Madrid, while Granada occupy 13th position, now seven points above the relegation zone.

Although mid-table Granada extended their unbeaten La Liga (LL) run to six matches (W3, D3) with a goalless draw at Elche to start 2022, the ‘Nazaríes’ will approach this clash feeling frustrated. That stalemate saw Granada fail to take advantage of an extra player for nearly an entire half, but they come into this fixture with confidence on the back of three consecutive home wins.

Impressively, each of that trio saw Granada net inside the opening 20 minutes, and the latest of those was a surprise 2-1 victory over champions Atlético Madrid. That unlikely triumph saw Granada come from behind to win at home for the first time since December 2020, and equalise their 2021/22 home record against teams starting this round in the top five (W2, L2).

A severely depleted Barcelona won 1-0 at Mallorca last Sunday to move within a point of LL’s top four, and their challenge now is to win back-to-back league games for only the second time this season. The Catalan outfit have enjoyed tight starts at the back lately, keeping seven first-half clean sheets across their last nine LL games.

That could be challenged by Granada’s penchant for early goals, which included a second-minute strike in the reverse fixture, but a five-game unbeaten LL away run (W2, D3) for Barcelona fuels their status as matchday favourites here. Notably, four of those trips saw Barcelona score first, with the ‘Blaugranes’ doing so inside the opening 15 minutes twice.

Date: 08/01/2022
Time: 20:30
Venue: Estadio Nuevo Los Cármenes (Granada)
Pick for this match:
“2” – @ 1.80 ( Betwinner )