Three talking points ahead of Getafe vs Barcelona | La Liga GW 20 | OneFootball

Having scored sixteen goals in four games in 2025, Barcelona enter La Liga for the first time this year tomorrow night as they face off against Jose Bordalas’ Getafe at Coliseum Alfonso Perez.

Their track record at the venue in recent years, however, is far from impressive and it is clear that they will be forced to toil hard if they are to take the three points on the night.

Barcelona’s last win in Getafe came back in 2019 when Luis Suarez and Antoine Griezmann were still at the club.

Since then, the two teams have faced off four times at the venue, one of which Getafe won and the others ended in goalless draws.

Barcelona’s potent attack thus faces a worthy rival in Getafe’s well-drilled low-block on Saturday night and it will be interesting to see who has the last laugh.

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

A whole different ballgame

Barcelona have crashed through Real Madrid and Real Betis’ defences in their last two games, putting five goals past each of them with ease. The Catalans feasted on the dysfunctional defences both teams had and exploited the voids to perfection.

Los Blancos’ had two weak-links at the back in Aurelien Tchouameni and Lucas Vazquez and the lack of chemistry between the back four gave Hansi Flick’s side a big advantage in the buildup.

Los Verdoblancos, meanwhile, attempted adopting a high defensive line and failed miserably with the midfielders through balls easily threading through the gaps and giving Barcelona repeated chances on goal.

Getafe, however, present a whole new ball game for Barcelona to decode and their strength on the counter-attack is not going to create many inroads.

Famed for their impenetrable low block, Jose Bordalas’ men will stick low on their lines and look to create a complete blockade in front of their area. It will not be surprising if nine of the ten outfield players are defending deep in two lines.

Creating chances past the defensively sound side is thus not going to be easy and it will be a test of Barcelona’s ability to finish clinically. If breaking through the defence is one worry, capitalising on the few chances and scoring will be another steep challenge.

The goalkeeper dilemma

Pena or Szczesny in goal? (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

Inaki Pena’s time as Flick’s undisputed preference in goal has come to an end, and all it took was two-and-a-half games from Wojciech Szczesny.

The Polish goalkeeper made his debut for Barcelona against Barbastro in La Liga and started against Athletic Club after Flick punished Pena for arriving late.

His strong showing in the Spanish Super Cup semifinal gave him a chance to start in the finale and he once again put up a solid show against Real Madrid until the moment he was sent off.

With both goalkeepers once again available ahead of the Getafe clash, it will be interesting to see who Flick prefers in goal and opts to deploy as his regular league goalkeeper.

After all, Szczesny has done enough to warrant more minutes and could well replace Pena on Saturday night.

The manager will thus face a serious selection dilemma ahead of kickoff and it appears that whoever he selects for the game at Coliseum Alfonso Perez will continue as his primary league goalkeeper for the rest of the season.

No room for error

Barcelona have seen their lead in La Liga disappear in a matter of weeks, and suddenly, are no longer in the top two of the standings.

November and December, after all, did not quite go to plan for the Catalans in the league as they dropped points week after week to see their advantage evaporate.

Defeats to Real Sociedad, Las Palmas, Leganes and Atletico Madrid coupled with draws against Real Betis and Celta Vigo have hurt the club badly and there is suddenly no more margin for error.

Halfway through the season, Barcelona are six points behind leaders Atletico de Madrid and five points behind Real Madrid and simply cannot afford to lose any more ground.

Tomorrow’s clash at Coliseum Alfonso Perez will be Barcelona’s first La Liga game of 2025, and the team must make a positive start to get back the momentum. Only a streak of wins can salvage their situation in the title race now.