The wish of the Barcelona players did not come true on Saturday, Real Madrid outclassed Girona (4-0) and thus consolidated their leadership position in La Liga. That didn’t leave the Catalans with many options if they want to stay in the championship race as long as possible, they will have to defeat Granada this Sunday 11 PM EAT in the 24th round of the Spanish championship.Real have now escaped Barcelona at +11 points, with a match played more. Fortunately for the Catalans, today’s opponent is among the easiest in the league, with Almeria the main candidate for a move to Segunda Division.Granada are second to last in the table with only 12 points won. They failed to triumph in the last four rounds, the streak of three consecutive defeats was ended last weekend by playing 1-1 against Las Palmas.De Jong mum on Barca’s new contract proposalToday, after three months of ‘sick leave’, we will finally see Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre Ter Stegen on the field. He last defended on November 12 against Alaves, after which he underwent surgery in Bordeaux due to back problems.The German goalkeeper missed 15 games, and without him, Barcelona lost two trophies (the Spanish Super Cup and Copa del Rey). The Catalans conceded as many as 28 goals, almost twice as many as in 17 matches with Ter Stegen (13 in Primera and two in the Champions League). In the same sample of matches, the former goalkeeper of Borussia Mönchengladbach remained unbeaten eight times, and his replacement Inaki Pena only on three occasions.Let’s play some Wall Ball. 🧱⚽️ pic.twitter.com/lb3rhWFFxB— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) February 11, 2024 To be frank, Ter Stegen’s presence against Granada in October did not help. The Catalans barely drew 2-2, as they had to chase two goals behind. Brian Zaragoza, Bayern Munich’s winter signing, beat the German twice in the first half hour.We will see another returnee on the Barça bench, the Brazilian national team member Raphinha. He was injured in the match against Osasuna in the semi-finals of the Super Cup and has not been in the competition since – until today.LA LIGA – MATCHDAY 24FridayCadiz – Real Betis 0-2 (0-1)/Willian Jose 6, Fornals 46/SaturdayAlaves – Villarreal 1-1 (1-1)/Omorodion 25 – Cuenca 42/Real Sociedad – Osasuna 0-1 (0-0)/Budimir 49/Real Madrid – Girona 4-0 (2-0)/Vini 6, Bellingham 35, 54, Rodrygo 61/Las Palmas – Valencia 2-0 (0-0)/Alex Suarez 89, Cardona 90+5/Sunday16:00: (2.25) Getafe (3.20) Celta (3.70)18:15: (2.35) Mallorca (3.10) Rayo Vallecano (3.30)20:30: (3.50) Sevilla (3.45) Atl.Madrid (2.10)23:00: (1.20) Barcelona (7.25) Granada (12.0)Monday21:00: (4.90) Almeria (3.60) Ath.Bilbao (1.75)***odds are subject to change***
