Three talking points ahead of Las Palmas vs Barcelona | La Liga GW 25 | OneFootball

Las Palmas were in the relegation battle when they took on Barcelona earlier this season and were seen as underdogs in the game that they eventually went on to shockingly win.

Tomorrow night, Hansi Flick’s side meet the same opposition once more, this time in the reverse fixture in La Liga. Their situation, however, is equally dire as they are level on points with relegation-threatened Valencia.

Las Palmas are in a terrible moment and have lost six of their last seven games across all competitions. Even the one game they did not lose was a tame draw against Osasuna.

Having dropped 16 of their last 18 points in La Liga, the Canary Island-based side will be looking to strike back and record a much-needed win tomorrow.

Barça Universal brings you three talking points ahead of Las Palmas vs Barcelona.

A score to settle

November and December of 2024 were perhaps the worst months of the season so far for Barcelona and they entered freefall in La Liga and succumbed to fatigue.

At that time, the Catalans simply struggled to win in the domestic competition despite their success on other fronts and dropped points in six out of seven consecutive league games.

Of the teams they went down against was Las Palmas, and what made the result more shocking was the fact that it transpired on home soil.

Hansi Flick’s side never really got going against the Canary Islands-based team and suffered a setback when Sandro Ramirez put Las Palmas ahead just after the restart.

Raphinha soon equalised for Barcelona just over ten minutes later, but Las Palmas were quick to pounce back through Fabio Silva and took home all three points after Barcelona filed to find an equaliser once more.

The result marked the opposition’s first win against Barcelona in over 25 years and sent the Catalans down the standings. Tomorrow, Flick’s men thus have a score to settle and dropping points once more is not an option.

Measured rotations

Set for starts? (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)

The past two weeks have seen Barcelona finally catch a deserved break after months of gruelling fixtures and a hectic calendar. After all, they have enjoyed close to a week between games for the first time this season.

The hectic schedule, however, is just a stone’s throw away and it is time for the Blaugrana to move up the gears once more.

Days after the game against Las Palmas at Estadi Gran Canaria, Barcelona play host to Atletico Madrid in the Copa del Rey before taking on Real Sociedad in La Liga.

The focus will then shift to the UEFA Champions League where they play against Benfica before the reverse fixtures against Atletico Madrid and Benfica arrive.

Back to having two games per week, Flick will thus look to implement rotations tomorrow night and it is clear that the league games will be the chosen ones to take the risk.

The likes of Marc Casado and Dani Olmo who have started on the bench recently may thus make their way back into the starting lineup. Also on the cards is a rotation at centre-back with Ronald Araujo and Eric Garcia making strong cases to start.

In attack, the manager could look to reward Ferran Torres with a start as well, depending on how the forward trio of Raphinha, Lamine Yamal and Robert Lewandowski are feeling.

Mounting pressure

For weeks now, Barcelona have been playing catch-up in La Liga after they squandered their lead and handed it over to Real Madrid.

Los Blancos, however, have dropped points in their last three games and handed the lead back over to Barcelona last weekend.

After the 1-0 win over Rayo Vallecano, the Azulgranas are on top of the standings albeit only ahead of Real Madrid on goal difference. Given that they play before their arch-rivals this weekend, they have a perfect chance to mount pressure on them.

Carlo Ancelotti’s side have had a more busy week as they hosted Manchester City in the second leg of their UCL knockout playoff tie on Wednesday.

Should Barcelona take three points, they will directly put pressure on the men in white who will fall behind should they drop points once more.

While Flick may well choose to rotate against Las Palmas, it is critical that the Blaugrana bring home all three points. After all, they cannot let the lead slip away from them days after having it handed back.