Granada vs. Barcelona: Team News, Predicted Line-Ups, Live Stream & TV Info
Barcelonaย travel to lowly hosts Granada looking to turn in a decent performance at a ground where they have struggled in the recent past.
The Catalans lost on their last visit here, a result which had some bearing on the La Liga title ending up in the red-and-white half of Madrid.
Even the two wins prior to last season's debacle were extremely hard-fought and only won by the odd goal.
Luis Enrique's team will certainly know they are in a game when they face off against Abel Resino's battlers.
With the Copa del Rey semifinal second leg against Villarreal taking place just a few days after this one, it could affect Lucho's team selection, but a manager who has gone from zero to hero in the space of eight weeks needs to be careful.
The nature of the loss against Malaga will send Enrique right back into sacking territory if it's followed up by another afternoon defeat.
Granada find themselves four points adrift of safety and the need for a big performance of their own is obvious.
If results go against them, it could be the beginning of the end of their tenure in the Spanish top flight.
Date:ย Saturday, February 28
Time:ย 3:00 p.m. GMT/10:00 a.m ET
Venue:ย Estadio Nuevo Los Carmenes, Granada, Spain
TV Info:ย Sky Sports 5 (UK only)/beIN Sportsย 1 (USA only)
Live Stream:ย Sky Goย (UK only)/beIN Sports Connect (USA only)
Form Lines
| Granada | Barcelona |
| L 1-2 vs. Levante | L 0-1 vs Malaga |
| D 0-0 vs. Athletic Club | W 5-0 vs Levante |
| L 0-2 vs. Villarreal | W 3-1 vs Villarreal |
| W 1-0 vs. Elche | W 5-2 vs Athletic Club |
| D 2-2 vs. Deportivo La Coruna | W 3-2 vs Villarreal |
| L 0-2 vs. Atletico Madrid | W 3-2 vs. Atletico Madrid |
Predicted Formations
Although Granada tend to favour an attacking 4-2-3-1 formation when possible, they may take their cue from Malaga's shock result at the Camp Nou and their own performance last season against the Catalans.
In both cases, a 4-4-2, at times morphing into a 4-5-1, has paid dividends.
By having players swarming all over Lionel Messi, Barca's creativity is stifled somewhat. Of course, the Blaugrana aren't a one-man team, but the Argentine remains the conduit through which all things flow for Barca.
Villarreal do indeed loom large and so Enrique now has a delicate balancing act on his plate.ย
Gerard Pique's yellow card against Los Boquerones rules him out of this one so expect Marc Bartra to line up alongside Javier Mascherano in central defence. In a complete change, Martin Montoya and Adriano Correia complete the back four.
Both wing-backs will be expected to get forward at every opportunity and put pressure on Messrs. Nyom and Insua.
Claudio Bravo keeps goal, Sergio Busquets keeps getting better. No question as to who will anchor the midfield when "Busi" is in this form.
Xavi Hernandez will get a chance to shine again and Rafinha has certainly done enough of late to keep a starting place.
Pedro can certainly come in and do a job alongside Messi and Suarez, Neymar starting this one on the bench.
Granada's XI virtually picks itself.
Goalkeeper Oier can renew acquaintances with friends he made from his time at Barcelona. The 25-year-old will have a particular reason to beat the Catalans therefore.
Emanuel Insua, Diego Mainz, Babin and Nyom will form a brick wall that Barca won't find easy to penetrate.
Fran Rico and Ruben Perez can shore up the central midfield areas with Daniel Candeias and Lass providing some width.
Piti and Adrian Colunga complete a reasonably competent XI, albeit one that is vastly underperforming at the moment.
Player To Watchย
Granada might be considered a hard-working team of journeymen professionals but the experienced Piti still deserves a little more deference.
In the autumn of his career, the 33-year-old can still be relied upon to put in a shift and is precisely the type of player that Abel Resino needs in the trenches.
If it's a battle you want, then rest assured, Piti will stand toe-to-toe.ย
He might not weigh in with two many goals now, but he still gets himself in the positions. Sooner or later a chance will be buried. Why not now? Juanmi showed the way last weekend for Malaga.
Despite only just returning from a hamstring injury, Barca ignore him at their peril.
Key Battle
Pedro against Allan Nyom could turn into a battle royale down the left channel.
The speed at which Pedro travels when in full flight has the potential to trouble any defence in the league but in Nyom the Canary Islander comes up against a no-nonsense warrior of a player.
Nyom's natural aggression should come to the fore in the early part of proceedings, letting Rodriguez know that he's in for a tough 90 minutes.
Similarly, if Pedro can impose his direct running game, then it's sure to pay dividends for the visitors.ย
Odds
The followingย pre-match odds are available via our betting partnerย Odds Shark:
Home Win: 14/1
Away Win: 25/147
Draw: 6/1
