{"id":15186,"date":"2025-04-12T09:26:09","date_gmt":"2025-04-12T03:56:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/?p=587186"},"modified":"2025-04-12T09:26:09","modified_gmt":"2025-04-12T03:56:09","slug":"leganes-vs-barcelona-preview-can-the-underdogs-shock-la-liga-leaders-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/football\/leganes-vs-barcelona-preview-can-the-underdogs-shock-la-liga-leaders-again\/","title":{"rendered":"Leganes vs Barcelona Preview: Can the underdogs shock La Liga leaders again?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>La Liga returns with a highly anticipated clash as FC Barcelona travels to the Spanish capital to face Leganes on Saturday night. With both teams fighting for very different objectives, this match promises drama, determination, and possibly redemption for the Catalan giants.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"\" data-start=\"449\" data-end=\"477\">Barcelona<\/h2>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"479\" data-end=\"776\">Barcelona\u2019s trip to Leganes is more than just another league game\u2014it\u2019s a chance for Hansi Flick\u2019s side to avenge their surprise December defeat to the relegation-threatened side. That loss marked the only real blemish in Flick\u2019s otherwise stellar debut campaign in charge of the Blaugrana.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"778\" data-end=\"1082\">Despite that stumble, Bar\u00e7a have been unbeaten in 2025, showcasing a dominant brand of football. Their most recent league outing saw them held to a 1-1 draw by Real Betis, but with Real Madrid losing to Valencia, the result still worked in their favor as they gained ground in the title race.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"1084\" data-end=\"1311\">Midweek, they delivered a statement of intent in Europe, thrashing Borussia Dortmund 4-0 in the Champions League quarter-finals first leg\u2014an emphatic performance that will undoubtedly boost confidence heading into Saturday.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"\" data-start=\"1313\" data-end=\"1351\">Leganes<\/h2>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"1353\" data-end=\"1609\">Leganes may be sitting 18th in the La Liga table, two points below safety, but they\u2019ve proven to be dangerous underdogs. Half of their wins this season have come against top-seven opponents, including that stunning 1-0 upset over Barcelona in December.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"1611\" data-end=\"1873\">Their ability to frustrate stronger sides, especially at home, means Flick\u2019s men cannot afford complacency. However, consistency remains an issue for Leganes, and with the relegation pressure mounting, they\u2019ll need a near-perfect performance to stun Bar\u00e7a again.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"\" data-start=\"1875\" data-end=\"1909\">Predicted Lineups<\/h2>\n<h3 class=\"\" data-start=\"1911\" data-end=\"1954\"><strong data-start=\"1915\" data-end=\"1952\">Barcelona Predicted XI (4-2-3-1):<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"1955\" data-end=\"2050\"><strong data-start=\"1955\" data-end=\"1967\">Szczesny<\/strong>; Kounde, Araujo, Martinez, Martin; Garcia, De Jong; Raphinha, Fermin, Gavi; Torres<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"\" data-start=\"2217\" data-end=\"2258\"><strong data-start=\"2221\" data-end=\"2256\">Leganes Predicted XI (4-2-3-1):<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"2259\" data-end=\"2351\"><strong data-start=\"2259\" data-end=\"2272\">Dmitrovic<\/strong>; Gonzalez, Nastasic, Tapia; Rosier, Cisse, Neyou, Herandez; Raba; Cruz, Garcia<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"\" data-start=\"2757\" data-end=\"2776\">Match Prediction<\/h2>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"2778\" data-end=\"3057\">While Leganes have been a thorn in the side of La Liga\u2019s elite, Barcelona\u2019s form in 2025, combined with their firepower and defensive solidity, makes them clear favorites. Revenge will be on their minds, and with the title race heating up, there\u2019s no room for dropped points.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"3059\" data-end=\"3096\"><strong data-start=\"3059\" data-end=\"3096\">Prediction: Leganes 0-5 Barcelona<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>La Liga returns with a highly anticipated clash as FC Barcelona travels to the Spanish capital to face Leganes on\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":217,"featured_media":36518,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15186","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-football"],"reading_time":"2 min read","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15186","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/217"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15186"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15186\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36518"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15186"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15186"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15186"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}