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It's been a somewhat roller-coaster season so far for Barcelona, as the defending champions find themselves in 5th spot, 3 points off early leaders, Sevilla. Nothing to worry about though, as it's still early in the campaign.
Barcelona was given a much-needed boost in midweek with Lionel Messi coming off the bench to play his first minutes of the season. The Catalan giants have also been boosted by the return of Luis Suarez, and he came off the bench to score twice against Valencia at home last weekend.
It's going to be a tricky tie for the defending champions though, because they haven't won away from home so far this season. Newly promoted Granada has been decent thus far, and they sit behind Barca in 6th place on the LaLiga standings, with the same number of points.
The Andalusian side also boasts of the third-best scoring record in the league so far, with 9 goals in four matches. Barcelona, on the other hand, has the best goal return, but they have been dreadful at the back with the third-worst defensive record. Barca hasn't managed to keep a clean sheet so far this season.
Granada will be buoyed by their recent form and will look to spring a famous upset, however, Lionel Messi is likely to be on captain's duty from the start, and he'll seek to send out an emphatic message in his first LaLiga game this season. It should be an interesting encounter at the Nuevo Estadio de Los Carmenes.
Venue and kickoff information
Venue: Nuevo Estadio de Los Carmenes
Date: September 21, 2019
Kickoff: 8:00 pm (BST)
Match official
Referee Guillermo Cuadra Fernandez
Head to head
In 12 previous encounters, the LaLiga champions have beaten Granada 11 times, with the Andalusian club managing just 1 victory. Barcelona has also beaten Granada in their last four meetings, with the Catalan giants winning the last instalment 1-4 away from home.
Form guide
Granada: LLDLWW
Barcelona: WLWDWD
Did you know?
Barcelona has been winning at both half time and full time in 5 of their last 6 matches against Granada.
Barcelona has scored at least 3 goals in their last 3 away matches against Granada.
Lionel Messi has found the net at least 2 times against Granada on four occasions.
Betting odds
Granada win: 8.89
Barcelona win: 1.33
Draw: 5.41
BTTS: 1.88 (Y), 1.82 (N)
Bookmaker: Betway
Prediction
Granada would seek to upset the defending champions, however, the return of Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi makes that a tall order. Barca will be buoyed by these returns, and should be able to see off the Granada challenge to pick up a first away win this season.
Final prediction: Granada 1-3 Barcelona.
