This is Barcelona's starting lineup to face Granada this Sunday

Barcelona have almost no more hope of being able to compete for the 2023/24 La Liga title. Their poor results in some key games during the season left them far from the top, and Real Madrid's win over Girona on Saturday was a tough blow. They expected Los Tozudos, second in the standings, to stand up to Los Merengues and get at least a draw at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium, but nothing of the sort happened and now Carlo Ancelotti's side look on course for the title.

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However, that does not mean that Los Blaugranas no longer have any interest in La Liga. On the contrary, they need to achieve good results to fulfill two key objectives: qualifying for the next Champions League and the Spanish Super Cup. The former is the most important tournament in Europe and four Spanish clubs will have their place there, while the latter includes the finalists of the Copa del Rey (where Barcelona are no longer) and the two best in La Liga (one will surely be Real Madrid, the other for now is Girona).

With this scenario, it will be important for the Catalan side to win as many games as possible until the end of the Spanish league to achieve those objectives. And the first challenge will be this Sunday at the Olympic Stadium Lluis Companys in Montjuic, where they will face Granada for the 24th round of La Liga.

Coach Xavi Hernandez decided that the starting lineup will be: Marc-André Ter Stegen; Jules Koudé, Pau Cubarsí, Iñigo Martinez, Joao Cancelo; Frenkie De Jong, Andreas Christensen, Ilkay Gundogan; Lamine Yamal, Robert Lewandowski, Pedri. On the bench will be Iñaki Peña, Diego Kochen, Ronald Araujo, Hector Fort, Marc Casado, Fermín Lopez, Raphinha, Marc Guiu and Pau Victor.

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They have a difficult mission

Granada's performance this season has been very poor. They have just 12 points in the standings, having won 2 games, drawn 6 and lost 17. That is why they are in 19th place and in relegation zone, 8 points behind Mallorca. A win this Sunday in Catalunya could be key for them and that is why coach Alexander Medina chose this XI: Augusto Batalla; Ricard Sanchez, Miguel Angel Rubio, Ignasi Miquel, Carlos Neva; Martin Hongla, Facundo Pellistri, Gerard Gumbau, Sergio Ruiz, Oscar Melendo, Myrto Uzuni.