Barcelona have gone 16 games without losing in La Liga heading into today; that’s the best current unbeaten streak of any team in the five major leagues in Europe.
Subs: Pedro Mosquera. Javier Ontiveros, Jaime Seoane, Sandro Ramirez, Sergio Gomez, Juan Carlos Real, Denis Vavro, Andres Fernandez, Pedro Lopez, Borja Garcia, Shinji Okazaki.
HUESCA (3-4-3): Alvaro Fernandez; Jorge Pulido, Dimitrios Siovas, Pablo Insua; Pablo Maffeo, Idrissa Doumbia, Mikel Rico, Javi Galan; David Ferreiro, Dani Escriche, Rafa Mir.
Subs: Samuel Umtiti, Martin Braithwaite, Ronald Araujo, Arnau Tenas, Trincao, Matheus Fernandes, Miralem Pjanic, Ilaix Moriba, Neto, Junior Firpo.
BARCELONA (3-4-3): Marc-Andre ter Stegen; Oscar Mingueza, Frenkie de Jong, Clement Lenglet; Sergino Dest, Sergio Busquets; Pedri, Jordi Alba; Lionel Messi, Antoine Griezmann, Ousmane Dembele.
Barca then keep faith with the same XI that drew last time out against Paris Saint-Germain in Europe almost a week ago. Huesca make just one change from their last game, with Jaime Seoane replaced by Idrissa Doumbia in midfield.
On paper, they’ll hope to nab three points against a side who look increasingly nailed on for the drop – but they will still be wary of Pacheta’s side. The visitors were only downed by a Frenkie de Jong goal in the reverse clash in January, and have taken four points in their last three games.
Couple that with the recent collapse of Atletico Madrid – who have notched only three wins since the start of February when they were apparently romping to the crown – and this game is a perfect chance to keep the gap small for the hosts as they pursue surprise success.
But despite that, and a Supercopa de Espana defeat to Athletic Bilbao, Ronald Koeman and Lionel Messi have helped reignite an unlikely charge for the summit, aided in no small part by an unbeaten top-flight run since mid-December.
It doesn’t seem too long ago that the Blaugrana were flailing in pursuit of silverware – and indeed, last week’s Champions League exit served a reminder that they are far from better days in the eyes of their expectant faithful.
Hello and welcome to live coverage of La Liga’s 2020-21 season, as Barcelona aim to keep their remarkable title challenge firing on all cylinders against rock-bottom Huesca at Camp Nou.
Rafa Mir though will be the danger man for their opponents today; he has scored seven goals in La Liga this season, becoming Huesca’s second all-time top-scorer in the top-flight.