Barcelona return to action with an early kickoff on Saturday and will continue to play at their fortress, the Spotify Camp Nou.
With the high-stakes Copa del Rey semifinal against Atletico Madrid just around the corner, it is high time the Catalans amp up their preparation and get back into their free-flowing goalscoring form.
They will have an opportunity to do the same when they take on Villarreal tomorrow evening, one of the teams above Atletico Madrid in the league standings.
The last time Barcelona and Villarreal faced off in La Liga was just under two months ago, when the Catalans came out on top with a 2-0 win, albeit after the opponents were reduced to ten men after just 35 minutes.
This time, the pressure will be higher and will thus set up for a high-intensity face-off. Barça Universal brings you three talking points ahead of Barcelona vs Villarreal.
One in, one out
Just when Barcelona were celebrating the return of Pedri from injury, they have been hit with the news of Frenkie de Jong’s setback, which is not a minor one by any means.
The Dutchman, who has been crucial for the team so far this season, has been ruled out with a blow to his hamstring and is set to miss over a month with his injury.
Needless to say, it comes as a massive blow to Hansi Flick’s plans, as the manager would have hoped to have both Pedri and De Jong available for the critical games coming up across all competitions.
After coming off the bench in the previous game, Pedri is expected to start against Villarreal, and the big question for Flick revolves around who he sees as fit to start alongside the Canary Islander.
Dani Olmo and Fermin Lopez are the most prominent options for the manager to consider, but there is also a good chance that Flick opts for Marc Bernal to partner Pedri in the defensive midfield for better stability.
Needless to say, his selection and the performance of the midfield in De Jong’s absence tomorrow will be critical in deciding how the team’s month progresses. After all, there are far bigger games to come with the same squad situation.
A special mark for a special coach
Aside from all the tension in the league title race, Barcelona’s questionable defensive record and relatively poor form in recent games, Hansi Flick is nearing a special milestone that will be a memorable one in terms of his stint in Catalonia.
Barcelona’s meeting with Villarreal tomorrow, after all, will be the manager’s 100th game in charge of the first-team, helping him reach a special milestone in his managerial career.
In his 99 games so far as the first-team coach, Flick has delivered 74 wins and has dropped points only on 25 occasions, already taking him above several top managers in the club’s history.
Notably, even Pep Guardiola had just 71 wins at the same stage of his managerial stint at the club, and Flick is the third-best of all of Barcelona’s past managers at the current stage.
As he heads into his 100th game as the first-team coach, the Catalans will look to hand the manager a memorable result for him to reminisce about forever, especially given how united the dressing room has been under him.
It is, after all, clear that the dressing room holds high regard for the German tactician, and they will come out all guns blazing against a complicated opposition to take all three points in convincing fashion.
A major left-back decision
Alejandro Balde has been Barcelona’s de facto left-back option for a long time now, so much so that he has been considered an undisputed starter in his position on any big night.
Hansi Flick, however, has made a strong statement against the Spaniard’s stronghold in the team in recent games, and matters no longer appear as favourable for the defender.
After the 4-0 defeat to Atletico Madrid, in which Balde was horrendous, Flick started him on the bench against Girona, despite the team having a reasonable time off. He only came on for the final 27 minutes with Gerard Martin starting in his place.
In the most recent outing against Levante, the coach handed Joao Cancelo the start in place of Balde once more. This time, however, the Spanish star did not even come off the bench, and Cancelo recorded one of his best halves in a Barcelona shirt.
It is, thus, high time that one begins to question Balde’s position as an undisputed starter for Barcelona and whether Cancelo may be a better attacking option for Flick’s plans. After all, what he produced last weekend was truly special.
Concurrently, however, it is well known that even the Portuguese star comes with his own set of defensive concerns. So, the manager must weigh up the strengths and weaknesses of both options.
Whether he starts Balde on the bench for a third straight game tomorrow or rewards Cancelo for his great show against Levante remains to be seen.
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