Low-scoring fare in Getafe?

La Liga opens its doors for the 93rd season. Right away, Getafe receives a very high visit on the 1st matchday with Barcelona. The guests won their 27th title last season! Now, of course, they want to defend it from the Catalans’ point of view.

For the hosts, the pre-season went much more dismal as 15th to the final reckoning. From a statistical point of view, however, it suggests a tough act to follow. In the past four home games of “Geta” against the FCB, only three goals were scored! For the upcoming clash between Getafe and Barcelona, the tip is also aiming for less than 2.5 goals again.

Getafe – Statistics & current form

The kickers from the suburbs of Madrid now have an auto-renewing subscription to 15th place in La Liga. For the last three seasons, the home side have always been in this position after the last matchday! With this record, the hosts can be labelled as a deep grey mouse in the Spanish top flight.

Coach Jose Bordalas, who took over the team at the end of last season for the second time in his coaching career and saved them from relegation with three wins and two draws and two defeats each, will now be counting on the home bonus.

Although the runners-up in the 2007 and 2008 cups are not among the most conspicuously strong teams at home in La Liga, their record in the pre-season was at least somewhat better in comparison to their footballing tours of duty. The “Azulones” picked up 27 of their 42 points in the past season on their own ground.

Getafe often take the break tea with a draw

Especially in the first halves of games, the 2008 UEFA Cup quarter-finalists were
were usually defensively secure. This can be seen in the fact that twelve of the 19 home games in league play ended in a draw.

Only Girona had this high number at the break in their home games. In view of this, the forecast for a draw at half-time in Getafe’s match against Barcelona is even better.

On the offensive side, the hosts continue to be severely weakened. Enes Ünal, the club’s best goal-scorer, is still out of action due to a cruciate ligament rupture at the end of last season. The Turk scored 30 goals for Getafe in the last two seasons, making it quickly clear that he cannot be adequately replaced.

Predicted line-up of Getafe:

Getafe (Expected line-up) 3-5-2

Barcelona – Statistics & current form

The champions are experiencing a nerve-wracking transfer summer. The Catalans are having considerable difficulty meeting the limit on the salaries of their own players.

Although some big earners such as Jordi Alba or Sergio Busquets have been transferred, the problem remains unresolved. For this reason, it is to be expected that other players with particularly high salaries, such as ex-Borussian Ousmane Dembele, will leave the club.

The most prominent new arrival is again Ilkay Gündogan. The German midfielder packed his bags after seven seasons in Manchester and joined Catalonia on a free transfer.

Barce defending less efficiently away from home

The visitors, moreover, will be banking on the fact that they have retained their away strength from last season. In the championship season, no team scored better away from home than FCB (13-1-5).

However, it can be noted that the concrete defence in home games, with only four goals conceded in 19 games at Camp Nou, was more vulnerable away from home. Barcelona conceded 16 of their 20 goals on the season in away games!

Lewandowski should get it right in attack again

On top of that, the offensive hopes are once again on Robert Lewandowski. In his first year at Barcelona, the Pole immediately took the La Liga top scorer’s crown with 23 goals last season.

With this haul, the FIFA World Player of 2020 and 2021 was also by far the highest-scoring player in the Blaugrana ranks. By comparison, the next two top scorers in Barcelona, Raphinha and Fati, scored only seven goals each.

Against this background, betting odds on “Lewy’s” next personal goal celebration in the duel between Getafe and Barcelona are also worth considering. This is also supported by the fact that the striker has already scored again in preparation. In the test match against Arsenal, for example, he scored a goal against the English runners-up despite only playing one half of the match.

Predicted Barcelona line-up:

FC Barcelona (Expected line-up) 4-1-2-3

Getafe – Barcelona Direct comparison / H2H balance

The last direct duel also took place in Getafe. It ended in a goalless draw last April. Thanks to the result, Barca are unbeaten in this pairing for five comparisons (3-2-0). The visitors, on the other hand, have been waiting for their next win in Getafe for three attempts (0-2-1).

Getafe – Barcelona tip

For the clash between Getafe and Barcelona, the prediction includes a maximum of two goals. Without question, the visiting champions go into the encounter as favourites, but in the first game of the season, the footballers from the Camp Nou will also have some rust on them.

In light of this assessment, there is no sign of any offensive spectacle on the part of coach Xavi’s team. Moreover, Getafe was comparatively successful at least in the home games last season. The defence was quite stable, although the predominantly harmless attack could also be observed at home.

Due to this combination, only 2.2 goals were scored on average in the home matches of the hosts last season – the third lowest number after Athletic Bilbao (1.9) and Mallorca (1.8). The prediction of a low-scoring match is also supported by the fact that Enes Ünal, the home side’s top striker, is still injured and the statistics of the pairing: No more than two of Getafe’s last nine home matches against the Catalans in league and Copa del Rey ended with more than two goals!