Los Amarillos are heading into the match on the back of a narrow 1-0 defeat away to Athletic Bilbao almost two weeks ago, while the visitors secured a thrilling 3-2 victory over Almeria in their previous competitive outing.
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Reigning La Liga champions Barcelona will be looking to kick start the new year on a winning note when they travel to Estadio de Gran Canaria to take on Las Palmas on Thursday night. Blaugrana are currently occupying fourth spot in the Spanish top flight standings, having taken 38 points from 18 games, ten adrift of the summit, while the hosts are sitting at the tenth position with 25 points to their name, seven away from the European spots. Los Amarillos are heading into the match on the back of a narrow 1-0 defeat away to Athletic Bilbao almost two weeks ago, while the visitors secured a thrilling 3-2 victory over Almeria in their previous competitive outing.
MATCH PREVIEW | Barça open 2024 against in-form Las Palmas in the Canary Islands 🏝️https://t.co/KpVJ5IwfPa
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) January 4, 2024
Las Palmas will be pleased with their efforts in their first top flight campaign since the 2017-18 season, recording seven wins, four draws and seven defeats from 18 league games so far. After back-to-back league-wins over Getafe and Alaves either side of a 2-1 Copa del Rey success against lower division side Tudelano, Los Amarillos were held to a 1-1 draw by Cadiz in the La Liga on December 17 despite taking an early lead through Pejino’s seventh-minute effort. Four days later, Francisco Pimienta’s side lost out to Athletic Club in their final fixture of 2023 courtesy of Unai Gomez’s lone goal four minutes into the injury time. Nevertheless, Las Palmas have been solid at home turf, having lost only one of their eight league games at Estadio de Gran Canaria this term.
Barcelona, on the other hand, had a disappointing last month, recording two wins, one draw and two defeats from their final five fixtures of the previous year. After going winless for three games against the likes of Girona (4-2), Antwerp (3-2) and Valencia (1-1) in all competitions, Blaugrana secured all three points in a five-goal thriller against rock bottom side Almeria on December 20. Xavi’s side took the lead twice through Raphinha (33′) and Sergi Roberto (60′), but the latter’s second of the night seven minutes from time proved to be the winner at Estadio Olimpic Lluis Companys. It was their 11th top flight victory of the campaign. Meanwhile, the Catalan giants have recorded five consecutive head-to-head wins against Las Palmas before they finally played out a 1-1 draw nearly six years ago.
Las Palmas probable starting lineup: Valles, Suarez, Coco, Marmol, Cardona, Munoz, Perrone, Rodriguez, Park, Munir, Sandro
Barcelona probable starting lineup: Pena, Cancelo, Araujo, Kounde, Balde, Roberto, De Jong, Gundogan, Raphinha, Torres, Lewandowski
Las Palmas
| Opponents | Score |
| Athletic Bilbao | 1-0 (L) |
| Cadiz CF | 1-1 (D) |
| Alaves | 0-1 (W) |
| Tudelano | 1-2 (W) |
| Getafe | 2-0 (W) |
Barcelona
| Opponents | Score |
| Club America | 2-3 (L) |
| Almeria | 3-2 (W) |
| Valencia | 1-1 (D) |
| Antwerp | 3-2 (L) |
| Girona | 2-3 (L) |
| Last 5 match-results | Score |
| Las Palmas draw Barcelona | 1-1 |
| Barcelona beat Las Palmas | 3-0 |
| Barcelona beat Las Palmas | 1-4 |
| Barcelona beat Las Palmas | 5-0 |
| Barcelona beat Las Palmas | 1-2 |
The La Liga fixture between Las Palmas and Barcelona will take place at Estadio de Gran Canaria on Friday at 2:00 am IST.
| Las Palmas vs Barcelona | Key Details |
| Date | January 4 (Spain) |
| Venue | Estadio de Gran Canaria |
| Kickoff time in Spain | 9:30 pm (Thursday) |
| Kickoff time in India | 2:00 pm (Friday) |
Football fans in India can live stream the game through Jio TV. Meanwhile, those in Spain can watch the match on LaLiga TV, Viaplay UK and Viaplay Sports 1.
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