Ernesto Valverde saw his side drop their first points of the season last time out, so will be looking for a positive response from Lionel Messi & Co
Barcelona will be seeking to preserve their unbeaten record and cement their standing at the top of the Liga table when they travel to Leganes on Wednesday.
The Catalan giants dropped their first points of the season last time out, with local rivals Girona stunning the Camp Nou as they secured a 2-2 draw.
Clement Lenglet’s dismissal did Barca few favours in that contest, though, and they will expect to get back to winning ways with 11 men on the field in midweek.
Leganes currently prop up the Spanish top flight, having collected just one point to date, and have failed to take anything from their four previous meetings with Ernesto Valverde’s side.
| Game | Leganes vs Barcelona |
| Date | Wednesday, September 26 |
| Time | 7pm BST / 2pm ET |
In the United States (US) the game will be shown live on television on beIN Sports. It can also be streamed live online using the beIN Sports CONNECT service.
| US TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| beIN Sports | beIN Sports CONNECT |
In the United Kingdom (UK), the game will not be broadcast live on television but it can be streamed via Eleven Sports.
| UK TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| None | Eleven Sports |
| Position | Leganes squad |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Cuellar, Serantes, Lunin |
| Defenders | Juanfran, Bustinza, Silva, Nyom, Garcia, Dos Santos, Munoz, Siovas, Omeruo, Tarin |
| Midfielders | Gumbau, Recio, El Zhar, Eraso, Merino, Perez, Vesga, Oscar |
| Forwards | Rolan, Ojeda, Carrillo, Santos, En-Nesyri |
Alexander Szymanowski continues to nurse a hamstring problem, while Jose Arnaiz is unavailable due to a groin complaint.
Leganes XI: Cuellar; Juanfran, Tarin, Bustinza, Silva; Perez, Carnero; El Zhar, Vesga, Oscar; En-Nesyri.
| Position | Barcelona squad |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Ter Stegen, Cillessen |
| Defenders | Alba, Semedo, Lenglet, Pique, Marlon, Umtiti, Vermaelen, Miranda |
| Midfielders | Rafinha, Alena, Busquets, Coutinho, Rakitic, Arthur, Roberto, Vidal |
| Forwards | L. Suarez, Messi, Dembele, Munir, Malcom |
Luis Suarez will start the match from the bench, with Munir taking his place in the lineup. In defence, Thomas Vermaelen makes his season debut, starting in a back line with regulars Sergi Roberto, Gerard Pique and Samuel Umtiti.
Lenglet is now serving a two-match suspension, but Malcom has returned from a sprained ankle and makes the bench.
Barcelona XI: Ter Stegen; Roberto, Pique, Umtiti, Vermaelen; Rakitic, Busquets, Coutinho; Messi, Munir, Dembele.
Barcelona are heavy favourites to take all three points, with bet365 pricing them at 1/4 to emerge victorious. Leganes are considered to be 11/1 shots, with a draw available at 5/1.
Click here to see all of bet365’s offers for the game, including goalscoring markets, correct score predictions and more.
Barcelona have been free-scoring so far this season, netting 16 times in their five La Liga outings to date.
Lionel Messi has contributed five of those efforts and has enjoyed his past meetings with Leganes.
His most recent outing against the Madrid-based side saw him net a hat-trick, with that treble seeing him take his personal haul against favoured opponents to seven in four appearances.
He will be hoping for more of the same on Wednesday as defending champions Barca seek to keep themselves ahead of the chasing pack.
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They are one of just three sides yet to suffer a league defeat – with the others being Real Madrid and Athletic Bilbao – and will feel that they still have a few more gears to go through.
Leganes could find themselves on the receiving end of an improved showing from Valverde’s side when they welcome heavyweight foes to Estadio Municipal de Butarque.
Mauricio Pellegrino’s side have found the going tough in 2018-19, having only just avoided relegation last term, and have already been hammered 4-1 by Real earlier this month.