Jul 21, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; FC Barcelona forward Luis Suarez (9). Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports <\/p>\n
It is tight at the summit of La Liga, and Barcelona will look to go top of the league as they face a tricky away trip to Granada Sunday afternoon. <\/p>\n
Barca are two points off league leaders Real Madrid (Barca 63, Madrid 65) who have a game in hand and play Alaves Sunday morning. They have scored the most goals in the league (81) and have lost only ONE league game since October. They also boast the top two leading men for the Pichichi (leagues top goalscorer award) in Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez who are on 25 and 22 league goals respectively. Not to mention also boasting the top two men leading the league in assists in Neymar with 10 and Suarez on nine. In short, M-S-N are pretty good. A win at the Estadio Nuevo Los Carmenes will keep Luis Enriques men in the race for the title and possibly on top depending on Madrids result with Alaves. <\/p>\n
Fun Fact Barcelona have nearly five times as many wins as Granada (Barcelona 19, Granada 4) and over five times as fewer losses this season (Barca 3, Granada 17). <\/p>\n
As for Granada, they are desperate. Three straight losses have them 19th in the league on 19 points, seven points below Sporting Gijon who are 17th. So even a win against Barcelona wont get them off the relegation zone, but it improve their situation nonetheless. Theyve also scored the second-fewest goals in the league (25) and have given up the second-most goals (57). Time is ticking, manager Lucas Alcaraz will have to pull off a near-miracle in order for this club to escape relegation. <\/p>\n
Last time these two teams metwas back in October, with Rafinha scoring the loan goal in a 1-0 win at the Camp Nou. <\/p>\n
Matchup To Watch: Neymar (Barcelona) vs Granadas Defense <\/p>\n
Is there a better player in the world at the moment than Neymar? A goal and an assist against Uruguay, plus another goal against Paraguay during the international break has him in tremendous form. <\/p>\n
4 @neymarjr has scored four goals and has provided four assists in his last four home games for #Brazil in WC Qualifiers. Unstoppable. <\/p>\n
OptaJavier (@OptaJavier) March 29, 2017 <\/p>\n
And if the stat by OptaJavier isnt enough, Neymar has also logged eight goals and 10 assists for the season, the Brazilian is nearly unplayable at the moment. That being said, Granada will have their work cut out for them, even if they stick to playing five defenders at the back. <\/p>\n
Prediction Granada 0-3 Barcelona <\/p>\n
Its a must-win for both teams, Barcelona need to keep pace with Real Madrid, Granada need to stave off the drop. The trio of Messi-Suarez-Neymar, M-S-N, will be too much for the hosts and should win comfortably. Theres ten games left, and no team can leave anything to chance. <\/p>\n
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Match Preview - Granada CF vs FC Barcelona - isportsweb.com (blog)<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Jul 21, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; FC Barcelona forward Luis Suarez (9). Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports It is tight at the summit of La Liga, and Barcelona will look to go top of the league as they face a tricky away trip to Granada Sunday afternoon Continue reading