Leganés - FC Barcelona: Complicated Outing Seeking to Resume Winning Path in La Liga

FC Barcelona will play this Saturday the match corresponding to matchday 31 of LaLiga EA Sports, with eight matches remaining until the end of the championship and with a four-point advantage over Real Madrid, in addition to another seven over Atlético. Hansi Flick's team arrives with an 11-match unbeaten streak (9 wins, 2 draws), but after an unexpected setback at home against Betis. Facing them will be Borja Jiménez's Leganés, a rival that already defeated the 'culés' in the first round.

• 📺 Schedules and TV: when and where to watch the match live in Spain, Europe, America, Africa, and Asia: SEE

In matchday 17, a goal by Sergio González allowed the 'cucumber growers' to surprise at Montjuïc, but after that historic victory, things have become very complicated for the Madrid team. Lega ended 2024 with a tough defeat at home against Villarreal and, although they started the second round with another resounding victory against Atleti (1-0), they have only been able to win 2 of their last 12 matches in La Liga.

In that period, the team barely added 10 of 36 points in play, which keeps them in direct relegation positions (18th) with 28 points, 2 behind Alavés (17th). Barça, on the other hand, has won 9 of their 11 La Liga matches in 2025 and, between matchdays 21 and 29, strung together 9 consecutive victories, a streak interrupted last Saturday against Betis (1-1). In total, Flick's team has played 23 matches, with 19 victories and only 4 draws, being their best start to the year in Barça history.

⚽ How Leganés and Barça arrive at the match of matchday 31:

Leganés: D/L/L/L/W

1. 🟡1-1 against Osasuna at Butarque (matchday 30)
2. 🔴3-2 against Real Madrid at the Bernabéu (matchday 29)
3. 🔴2-3 against Betis at Butarque (matchday 28)
4. 🔴2-1 against Celta at Balaídos (matchday 27)
5. 🟢1-0 against Getafe at Butarque (matchday 26)

FC Barcelona: D/W/W/W/W

1. 🟡1-1 against Betis at Montjuïc (matchday 30)
2. 🟢4-1 against Girona at Montjuïc (matchday 29)
3. 🟢3-0 against Osasuna at Montjuïc (matchday 27)
4. 🟢2-4 against Atlético in Madrid (matchday 28)
5. 🟢4-0 against Real Sociedad at Montjuïc (matchday 26)

Barça cannot afford another stumble against a rival from the bottom of the table

In that sense, Barça arrives at Butarque with the obligation to add the three points to remain calm in the lead of the standings. The 'culés' have 67 points, four more than Madrid and 7 ahead of Atleti, in addition to the 'extra point' that the direct confrontation implies (4-0 over the 'merengues'; 5-4 against the 'rojiblancos'), added to the goal difference, where the 'azulgranas' are also clearly superior to their two closest pursuers.

The visit to Madrid comes in the middle of the quarter-final tie of the UEFA Champions League, where the Catalan team already did a good part of the work in the first leg, at home, against Borussia Dortmund (4-0). With only 72 hours of rest between both matches against the Germans, Flick must dose the workload in the squad, although the advantage obtained in Montjuïc gives enough peace of mind to face the visit to Leganés with a cool head.

• 📋 Squad list: Barcelona's squad list for the match: SEE

Thus, before the rematch against Dortmund, Barça must take another firm step towards the La Liga title. After Saturday's match, there will be 21 points to play for, with the Clásico against Madrid on matchday 35 as a possible 'final' to finish off some 'merengues' in free fall. In the case of Lega, the fight for permanence with Alavés, Espanyol, and Girona promises to be vibrant until the last matchday. For now, Valladolid is the only condemned team, as Las Palmas (19th) has 2 points less than the 'cucumber growers'.

Hansi Flick will field his best XI at Butarque

For Leganés-Barça, Hansi Flick will be able to count on his best men, with the exception of Dani Olmo. The player from Terrassa has returned to training with the squad, but he is unlikely to see minutes before next Saturday's match against Celta. Taking into account the wear and tear involved in the tie against Dortmund, it is likely that the coach will rest some starters, although this does not imply, far from it, going out with an alternative XI.

Two of the 'untouchables' who could rest on Saturday are Iñigo Martínez and Alejandro Balde. Ronald Araujo and Gerard Martín have responded well in recent weeks and are likely to return to the lineup at Butarque. The same is true of Eric García, who has been in charge of covering Frenkie de Jong's back in the absence of Marc Casadó. And, in attack, Fermín López and Ferran Torres have also done enough to start against Lega.

The player from Huelva played a great match against Dortmund and the 'Shark' is still on a roll, so Barça could rest Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski. The Brazilian has struggled to regain his rhythm after the last international break, while the Pole knows that the coaching staff will dose his minutes to the maximum in the final stretch of the season, beyond his desire to stay with the Pichichi both in La Liga and in the Champions League.

• ℹ️ Lineups: the possible starting XIs of Leganés and FC Barcelona: SEE

Leganés, forced to add points against Barça

Leganés, on the other hand, arrives with the obligation to win at home, something they have not done since matchday 26 against Getafe (1-0). Borja Jiménez's team sold their defeats against Betis (2-3) and Real Madrid (3-2) dearly, but they need to add three points to get out of the relegation places. The 'cucumber growers' schedule in the final stretch of the season will allow them to face all their direct rivals for permanence, a point in favor of the Madrid team.

However, a defeat against Barça can aggravate the crisis of a team with serious offensive problems. In 30 matches, they have only been able to score 29 goals, 54 less than the 'azulgrana' team so far (83). Even so, their victory in the first round at Montjuïc gives hope of being able to repeat the good defensive work done on matchday 17, the last match where Hansi Flick's team failed to score at least 1 goal.

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