La Liga: Las Palmas vs Barcelona Live
Preview
The current title holders, Barcelona, will kick off the new year with an away game against Las Palmas in La Liga at Gran Canaria. Barcelona, who are currently in fourth place, will face the newly-promoted Las Palmas, who are in tenth place.
Despite ending 2023 with a loss to Athletic Bilbao, Las Palmas can take satisfaction in their performance in their first season back in the top division since 2017-18. They have dispelled concerns about an immediate relegation, having won seven, drawn four, and lost seven of their 18 league matches. The team from Gran Canaria is just three points behind the top seven as they head into matchday 19.
Despite being one of the lowest-scoring teams with 15 goals, they have shown resilience in defense, conceding only 15 times in La Liga this season, a defensive record matched only by joint leaders Real Madrid. In addition to their solid defense, Las Palmas have been strong at home, losing just one of their eight league matches at the Estadio de Gran Canaria this season.
Barcelona may have been relieved to have a short winter break after experiencing a drop in form, with three draws and one loss in their last five La Liga matches of 2023. They have won 11, drawn five, and lost two of their 18 La Liga games, leaving them ten points behind joint-leaders Real Madrid and Girona as they enter the new year.
Although they ended the previous year with a win, it was a hard-fought 3-2 victory against winless Almeria, with Sergi Roberto scoring the decisive goal. Xavi’s team will start 2024 with an away game, and despite being one of two teams yet to lose a league game on the road this season, they have drawn five of their eight away matches, including their last two against Valencia and Rayo Vallecano.
Head-to-head
Barcelona has not lost in their last three matches against Las Palmas, with two victories and a 1-1 draw in their most recent encounter.
Prediction
Barcelona understands that they will need to perform at a high level to defeat a Las Palmas team that has only lost one home league game this season. Despite this, we are confident that the Catalan giants have sufficient talent in their team to secure a close victory against the recently promoted side.
