La Liga: It’s a Madrid Start for the Champions

Getafe vs Barcelona

Barcelona begintheir La Liga title defence on Sunday with a trip away to Getafe where manager Xavi will be hoping for a winning start.

The pre-season La Liga 2023 betting odds are predicting another El Clasico shootout, and while Los Blancos have a tough trip away to Athletic Bilbao, the Blaugrana have a tricky assignment in Madrid. 

Getafe boss Jose Bordalas steered his side to safety last term with a 15^th-placed finish, and he’s added to his squad with some shrewd signings.

Meanwhile, at the elite end of the market, Barcelona are working furiously behind the scenes to get their group ready for another successful campaign.      

Talking Points

Barcelona in race to register players

At the last count, Barcelona had just 13 players registered for the start of the 2023/24 campaign, but there should be a few more bodies ready to go by Sunday. The Catalans are currently trying to register six players, including key men like Ronald Araujo and new recruit Ilkay Gundogan.

There is a danger that the ex-Manchester City man could leave on a free transfer if he isn’t registered before long, so Xavi will be imploring his money men to get the necessary work done. The potential departures of Ousmane Dembele to PSG and Franck Kessie to Saudi Arabia could smooth the process, but Dembele’s move to Paris isn’t going smoothly at the moment.

The good news for Xavi is that Araujo and fellow centre-back Andreas Christensen are ready for registration, and they should be in line to face Getafe. But another new signing, defender Inigo Martinez, may have to wait.       

The Blaugrana have got involved in the Kylian Mbappe saga as the France star prepares to move away from PSG. Whether there will be another U-turn from the player remains to be seen, though I am sure Xavi would prefer he didn’t rock up at the Santiago Bernabeu.

But now the Barca boss needs to get his players that are available ready for the challenge.  

Getafe’s centre-backs set for centre stage  

While the Catalans shuffle their finances in order to put together a title-winning team, Getafe’s business is all the more straightforward, as the Madrid minnows spend modestly to give themselves the best chance of survival.

Their two centre-backs, on loan last season, have made their moves permanent. Omar Alderete has signed from Hertha Berlin for a fee of €4 million, and he’s been joined by Gaston Alvarez from Boston River at a cost of €3.5 million.

Paraguay international Alderete became a fan-favourite with his dominant displays and he struck up a strong partnership with Uruguayan Alvarez, and they will form the foundation of a solid formation once again. 

Experienced centre-forward Jaime Mata will lead the line again, and he will hope to get more service from winger Portu, another player who has made a loan move permanent, signing for around of €3.5 million from Real Sociedad.

This is a team which should have enough to survive.   

History

These two teams have met 40 times over the past two decades, and Barcelona have enjoyed much the better of the head-to-head results, winning 28, drawing eight, and losing just four of their encounters with Los Azulones.

But the Coliseum Alfonso Perez is a tight ground holding 17,000 fans, and there will be an intimidating atmosphere on Sunday. Barcelona have not won there in their last three visits, playing out a 0-0 draw last April on the run in to the title.   

In terms of preparations for this game, both teams have had good pre-seasons, winning four and losing two. Barcelona come into the game on the back of a 4-2 victory over Tottenham Hotspur, while Getafe beat Vitesse Arnhem 4-1.    

Betting Tip

We’ll be back with the first weekend of La Liga 2023 updates on Sunday, but in the meantime, let’s make a choice on this cracking opener for the Champions.

Getafe are at SBOTOP odds of 4.84 to provide a big upset, while the Blaugrana are at a short price of 1.52 with the draw at 3.83. This hasn’t been a happy hunting ground for Barca in recent seasons but, this time around, they arrive as reigning champions and that gives them a new aura.

Xavi is clearly a talented coach, and he will have enough players registered to win this game, remembering, of course, that the great Robert Lewandowski will lead the Catalans’ attack.      I expect the lethal Pole to write the headlines, and a correct scoreline of 2-0 to Barca at a price of 5.99 won’t be far off.  

 

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