FC Barcelona returns to La Liga action tomorrow when they take on Athletic Bilbao at the Camp Nou. Will the Blaugrana be able to maintain their 100% record, or will the FIFA Virus strike again?
La Liga leaders FC Barcelona return to action tomorrow after a somewhat uneventful international break, as they host UEFA Champions League qualifiers Athletic Bilbao at the Camp Nou. With two wins from their opening two matches under Luis Enrique, the Blaugrana have re-established themselves at the very pinnacle of Spanish football demonstrating the same principles that saw them dominate the world stage for three memorable seasons under Pep Guardiola. Even the much-maligned defense has impressed; through 180 minutes of football the Blaugrana are yet to concede – so in general, everything is looking up, right?
Well, nothing’s quite perfect yet. Against Villarreal CF at El Madrigal, Barça often rode their luck, and while overall, they probably deserved the victory, a draw would not have been a surprising result. The clean sheet was ultimately theirs as well, although they had lady luck and the frame of the goal to thank as much as starting goalkeeper Claudio Bravo. Sure, we passed the test, but barely.
Now, with the majority of the squad returning from their various excursions across the globe, the Blaugrana face arguably their toughest test of the season so far, squaring off against long-time rivals, Athletic Bilbao. The Basque superpower possesses the quality to upset any opposition on any given day, and as such even with home advantage, Luis Enrique will be weary of the threat that Los Leones pose.
Bouncing back from a surprise opening day defeat to Malaga CF, Athletic registered their first win of the season last weekend with a comfortable 3-0 win over Levante UD, and have combined their domestic obligations with a superb 4-2 aggregate win over Rafa Benitez’ SSC Napoli in the UEFA Champions League play-off.
With their group stage season debut to follow next Wednesday, Athletic must once again juggle commitments on multiple fronts this week. Their relative inexperience in this respect is something that Barcelona can capitalise upon. The fitness of Lionel Messi, Andrés Iniesta and Gerard Piqué is another factor in Barça’s favour. This is a winnable game – let’s make it three from three.
TEAM NEWS
BARCELONA
Only one player is completely ruled out of contention for tomorrow’s match; Luis Suarez may yet start El Clasico, but he’s ruled until then at the very earliest, but even if the Uruguayan can’t feature, everyone else is at least in with a shout. Marc-André ter Stegen has recovered from his fractured back to move into contention for a starting berth, while former Arsenal FC captain Thomas Vermaelen has shaken off his injury to potentially make the Barcelona squad for the first time in his career. Heck, Douglas is even in with a slim chance of making the final 18 – so let’s try and second-guess how Lucho will approach this match.
With a home clash against APOEL Nicosia on Wednesday, the Blaugrana will likely take this week as an opportunity to really test their squad depth. From one game to another, I would be surprised if Lucho didn’t make a plethora of changes, but by and large, I expect a similar line-up tomorrow to the one that defeated Villarreal at El Madrigal.
Claudio Bravo gets my vote to start between the sticks, with Marc-André ter Stegen tipped to rotate into the line-up to make his Barça debut in midweek against the Cypriot champions, APOEL. The Chilean hasn’t exactly been spectacular but he has been solid, and there is simply no reason for Enrique to discard him based on ter Stegen’s return to fitness, irrespective of how highly you might rate the German shot-stopper. The only reason that the former Monchengladbach man might get the nod is for his height, as his aerial presence could prove useful against Aritz Aduriz and the Bilbao attack.
Then again, who better to start against Athletic than a former Real Sociedad captain? He might not be Basque, but Bravo understands Bilbao like no-one else on our roster – I would welcome that experience if I was head coach.
Building from the back, Bravo is a calm presence on the ball and that could be important against a high-pressure Bilbao outfit. Gerard Piqué is no slouch in possession, but the Catalan centre-half certainly appreciates having his keeper as an option and always appeared less comfortable in a defense ahead of Jose Manuel Pinto for instance. With Mathieu and Vermaelen recovering from their respective knocks, Piqué is a dead-cert in the starting XI, but who will join Geri in the heart of defense?
Jeremy Mathieu has the advantage having started the first two matches of the season, although his performance against Villarreal didn’t exactly inspire confidence. As such, I would argue that Marc Bartra deserves to make his first start of the season, but something makes me think that Javier Mascherano will return from suspension and slot back into the defense instead. It all depends on the approach that Lucho wants to take: if he wants to guard against set pieces and Athletic’s aerial presence, expect to see Mathieu. If he wants to build from the back, expect to see Mascherano. If he wants a mixture, maybe Bartra will get the start.
What perhaps goes against Bartra is his offensive instinct, as he does venture forward irregularly. Combine that with Barça’s flying full-backs, and you can see the problems it could create, especially if it means that we leave Gerard Piqué isolated.
I suspect that Martin Montoya and Adriano will rotate into the team against APOEL, leaving Dani Alves and Jordi Alba to make their third starts of the season tomorrow. Dani in particular received some criticism for his performance against Villarreal, although it’s easy to blame the Brazilian for his crossing, even if the real root of the problem (in my opinion at least) was a lack of movement in the final third, and a lack of support from the midfield. If they move and provide Dani with an option, I’m sure logic will prevail and he won’t float in a cross for our diminutive strike-force.
I digress; let’s move onto the midfield...oh, wait, it’s the easiest part of the team to preview: Sergio Busquets, Ivan Rakitić and Andrés Iniesta. That’s the default trio, and yes, Xavi is Xavi, but Lucho has established early that our captain has been reduced to a back-up role. I guess not much has changed from last season then.
The Bilbao midfield is strong, physical and technically gifted, but they don’t quite give off the same impression as they did under Marcelo Bielsa; the departure of Ander Herrera to Manchester United has undoubtedly played a major part in that and it’s something that Barça should pinpoint as a potential route to victory.
In attack, Lionel Messi will start, obviously. With two goals from the opening two games, Messi is flirting with a return to his very best but he still needs support. Luis Suarez can’t provide that – yet – and therefore the responsibility falls on the likes of Pedro, Neymar and Munir to help the Argentine magician out. I want to see Neymar and Munir start tomorrow, but I know that we’ll probably only see one from the start, with the other spot going to Pedro.
Fresh off a goal for Spain, Pedro should have the confidence to get at the Athletic defense and challenge for his place in the starting line-up; will that be the case? I wouldn’t hold my breath...
ATHLETIC BILBAO
Athletic. Technically sound. 4-2-3-1.
Ernesto Valverde is a tremendous manager, capable of thrilling crowds with tactical systems that promote exciting football, but he’s very much played it safe at Athletic Bilbao and that’s somewhat disappointing. I would have loved to see another La Liga team really make a go of the "Barça system", but alas, the wait goes on. Bilbao will be disciplined, physical and of course, dangerous. They’re just like every team we face in that respect, but they have that extra gear; the "it" factor in a red-and-white striped shirt.
No matter the manager, no matter the players; Bilbao always play the same way. It might not be total football, but it’s just as recognisable – you always know when you’ve been up against the Basque Country’s biggest club.
Andoni Iraola is back from injury after missing the win against Levante, and Ernesto Valverde has kept his cards close to his chest by taking the same 18 along with Iraola to Barcelona. Expect Iraola to return at right-back, liberating Oscar de Marcos from his makeshift role in defense, although de Marcos will probably just drop to the bench in all honesty. I expect a few more "defensive" changes, but by and large, it’ll be a similar team to the one that beat Levante a fortnight ago.
FORM GUIDE
Barcelona: DLWWWW
Athletic: DDLWWW
LAST MEETING
FC Barcelona 2-1 Athletic Bilbao – 20th April 2014 – La Liga
Aritz Aduriz handed the visitors an early second-half lead, but Barça fought back and secured a comeback victory courtesy of goals from Pedro Rodriguez and Lionel Messi.
LIKELY LINE-UPS
Barcelona (4-3-3): Bravo; Alves, Piqué, Mathieu, Alba; Busquets, Rakitić, Iniesta; Pedro, Messi, Neymar
Athletic (4-3-3): Iraizoz; Iraola, Laporte, San Jose, Balenziaga; Gurpegi, Mikel Rico, Iturraspe; Ibai, Aduriz, Muniain
MATCH PREDICTION
At San Mames, this would be a tough, close-fought encounter and we’d be lucky to escape with a win, but at the Camp Nou, I see Barça’s quality shining through in the end. 2-0 Barça win.
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