Getafe vs Barcelona Prediction: Expect to see plenty of yellow in ITV4 clash

ITV 4 steps back into the La Liga ring on Saturday night with an interesting clash as Barcelona make the trip to the Estadio Coliseum to take on Getafe in 20:00 kick-off UK time.

Our Spanish-based football expert Mark Sochon previews the action and picks out his two Best Bets for the game as he gives us his Getafe vs Barcelona Predictions...

*You can check out all of the Football Odds we offer over at betfred.com

Barcelona are bidding to continue a brilliant start to 2025, by winning their first league match of the new calendar year at Getafe. 

There's likely to be a whole range of emotions in the Barça camp heading into this game. On one hand, confidence should be sky high with silverware secured last weekend as they dominated Real Madrid in a brilliant 5-2 Supercopa final victory. 

They hit five again against Betis in the Copa del Rey in midweek, with Lamine Yamal putting in a sensational performance. That made it four wins out of four and 16 goals scored for the Catalans since returning from the break, with their performance levels seemingly back to where they were during the opening months of Hansi Flick's reign, a period when they swept aside their domestic and European rivals with considerable ease. 

Yet, despite some excellent results over the past fortnight, there will still be more than a hint of tension in the visiting camp heading into this match. 

That's not just the result of a poor run before Christmas, with just one victory in seven outings in La Liga, leaving them off the pace and with little margin for error in the coming weeks if they want to keep in touch with the Madrid clubs in the title race. 

It's also a consequence of a miserable recent record at the Coliseum. You have to go back to 2019 for the last time Barcelona even scored on this ground, with the last three meetings in La Liga here all ending goalless. 

A scrappy 0-0 draw on the opening weekend last season, when both sides were reduced to 10 men, was typical of how this fixture has gone in recent years. His critics would also argue that those results at Getafe were a reflection on Xavi's reign as a whole, with Barça all too frequently failing to produce the kind of dazzling, attacking football the club has historically been known for. 

That's not an accusation that can be thrown at Flick, with Barcelona currently on course to pass the 100-goal mark in La Liga for the first time in eight years. However, it is still true that his side has struggled against defensively minded teams over the past couple of months, and that's an obstacle they will have to overcome and fast, if they want to get their hands on the Spanish title in May. 

In many respects, this game is the acid test of that. Getafe have always been a cautious outfit across the two spells of Pepe Bordalás, but with limited attacking options this term, he has really doubled down on that defensive approach. 

At the midway point in the season, Getafe are the joint lowest scorers in La Liga with only 13 goals, yet they have the third best defensive record, with only 16 conceded. 

They've already shown Barcelona what awkward opponents they can be this season, with their 1-0 defeat at the Estadi Olímpic in September coming at a time when Flick's side were at their free-flowing best. They would have drawn that game had substitute Borja Mayoral not spurned a glorious chance at the death. 

While they remain only three points outside the relegation zone heading into matchday 20, it has been a positive start to 2025 for Getafe.  

22-year-old winger Coba da Costa has broken into the first eleven and brought some much needed life to their attacking play. He scored and assisted as Los Azulones won 2-1 at Las Palmas last weekend, to record their first road win of the campaign in La Liga. 

They also booked their place in the Copa del Rey quarter-finals, with a 1-0 win at Pontevedra, in midweek. While they did have two players sent off in that game, a possession count of just 16% for a top flight team up against fourth tier opposition was still an incredible statistic, even by the standards of a Getafe side that isn't afraid to play direct football. 

Team News: 

The home team are doing pretty well on the injury front right now, with Allan Nyom their only doubt heading into this game.  

Bordalás may consider switching to three centre-backs for this one, although a 4-1-4-1 system worked quite well in the reverse fixture. Mayoral and Bertuğ Yıldırım are competing for a starting role up front, with midweek scorer Álvaro Rodríguez also likely to feature at some point. 

As for Barcelona, they are missing centre-back Íñigo Martínez to injury. That should lead to the fit again Ronald Araújo getting a run of games in defence, despite uncertainty over his future. 

Marc-André ter Stegen and Marc Bernal are the only other absentees for the visitors. The main decision for Flick may be whether to start Gavi or Dani Olmo as his most advanced midfielder, with a relatively settled feel to the rest of the side. 

Getafe vs Barcelona Odds

Barcelona are the 1/2 favourites to get back to winning ways in La Liga. If you fancy Getafe to cause an upset, the South Madrid side are on offer at 11/2 to win the game, while the Draw is priced at 16/5. 

Punters will need to weigh up just how relevant the recent head-to-head record at the Coliseum is heading into this game. With just three goals scored in total across the last five meetings here, odds of 10/11 for Under 2.5 goals may appeal, while Both teams to score - No is priced at 5/6. You can also back a fourth straight 0-0 draw in this fixture at odds of 12/1. 

Alternatively, some may look at just how well Barça have played over the past week, with 10 goals scored in two matches, and see value in going with Barcelona to win and Over 2.5 goals at 23/20. 

You can also back Over 2.5 Barça goals at 2/1, while there are a couple of price boosts on this game which may tempt some punters. 

Barcelona to win by 2+ Goals, Lamine Yamal to score or assist and Both teams 20+ booking points has been boosted 5/1. Meanwhile, you can back Robert Lewandowski to score, Getafe most booking points and Barcelona most corners at enhanced odds of 11/2. 

Bet 1 - Lamine Yamal 3+ shots @ 5/6 

At the tender age of 17, Lamine Yamal has already established himself as a European champion and one of the best players in La Liga.  

There have been many wonderful displays from the winger over the past year for club and country, but he put in what was widely viewed as his best performance yet in midweek, totally dominating the game against Betis, with pundits drawing comparisons to some of the great displays from both Neymar and Leo Messi in a Barça shirt. 

He shouldn't be lacking belief heading into this game, and in the kind of mood he's currently in, Yamal is unlikely to be shy to shoot against a Getafe side that may sit deep and look to restrict their opponents to attempts from range. 

The teenager has had three or more shots in 10 of his last 11 games and I'm backing Lamine Yamal to have 3+ shots at 5/6 here. 

Bet 2 - Over 52.50 Booking Points @ 11/10 

Getafe will most likely try to turn this into a niggly game, with plenty of stoppages, and that has certainly been the way of things in recent years at the Coliseum, much to Barcelona's frustration and at times very obvious anger. 

Raphinha was sent off on their last visit here, with Getafe also reduced to 10 men in a game that saw yellow cards dished out to seven home players. While plenty of time has passed since then, and while the Catalans are under new management now, their poor recent record in this fixture will still play on one or two minds in the visiting camp heading into Saturday's showdown. 

Flick has looked for his side to show a bit more aggression in the press than was the case under Xavi, and they'll be conscious of the need to compete with Getafe physically here. 

I can see tensions boiling over at times, and I'm backing Over 52.50 Booking Points at 11/10. 

Mark Sochon primarily covers Spanish Football for us at Betfred Insights. You can check out Mark's La Liga Betting Tips along with those from the rest of the Betfred Insights Spanish Football writers on our La Liga home page...