A look ahead to Barcelona's La Liga clash with Granada, as Luis Enrique hopes to see his side bounce back to winning ways after a draw against Malaga
FC Barcelona will be aiming to return to winning ways tomorrow evening, when they host Granada CF at the Camp Nou in their third and final La Liga fixture of the week. After starting this manic week with a bang, registering a Manita victory over lowly Levante UD at the Ciutat de Valencia, the Blaugrana have hit something of a slump, culminating in Wednesday’s tepid display and a goalless draw against Malaga CF.
This draw, the first of Luis Enrique’s reign as head coach and Barça’s first of the season enabled title rivals Real and Atletico Madrid to both regain ground in the title race, with Los Blancos narrowing the gap to the table topping Blaugrana to four points. Atleti, with Diego Simeone returning from a touchline ban, are closer still; two points removed from the early pace setters.
Of course, then we have the likes of Sevilla and Valencia, both of whom are currently level with Enrique’s side. Indeed, it just goes to show what a difference one match can make. Prior to Wednesday, Culés were entertaining talk of a potential treble and now, following a single disappointing performance, question marks are being raised of the coach and of the club in general.
Are we on the right path? Did we make the right call after all? Have we actually addressed any of the issues that derailed our last title challenge?
It’ll take more than one match for us to find the answers, but in the interest of maintaining our slender lead at the top of the table and to ensure that the media cannot ask any more questions of the team, let’s get back on track and pick up the three points.
TEAM NEWS
BARCELONA
With a tricky trip to Paris lined up for next Tuesday, Luis Enrique has a few tough decisions to make ahead of tomorrow’s visit of Granada. Does he rotate the squad yet again to keep key names fresh for that crucial UEFA Champions League clash with Paris Saint-Germain, or does he stick with the big names who underperformed on Wednesday?
Speaking in today’s pre-match press conference, Luis Enrique was full of praise for tomorrow’s opposition, singling out the work ethic and defensive discipline of Joaquin Caparros’ squad. and with good reason; through the opening five fixtures Granada have conceded just three goals, tying them for the third best defensive record in La Liga.
Up until Wednesday, the Andalusians were unbeaten as well; but their streak came to an abrupt end at home in a shock 0-1 defeat against Levante. In that sense, Caparros’ team will be just as hungry as the Blaugrana to secure a favourable result and they pose a threat that cannot be underestimated.
As such, I would be hesitant to make too many changes ahead of the UEFA Champions League group stage match with Paris Saint-Germain. While Lucho has not divulged details of his squad for tomorrow’s match, I’m going to take a guess that it will be very similar to the one that travelled to La Rosaleda earlier in the week, albeit with a couple of alterations.
Rafinha Alcântara will continue to miss out through injury, and I suspect that the Brazilian midfielder will be joined in the stands by Thomas Vermaelen who recently stepped up his return to fitness with a goal for Barcelona B. Meanwhile, after a less than encouraging debut, Douglas should drop out of the Barça squad altogether.
Enough about who won’t play though – who is in line to start tomorrow’s match?
The easy money is on Claudio Bravo to continue between the sticks. While the goalless draw with Malaga hardly set pulses racing in Catalunya, Bravo’s performance was one of the highlights on an otherwise drab night. His save from Luis Alberto’s free-kick arguably earned Barça a point while his leadership and distribution from the back have been key to Barcelona’s strong start to the campaign.
Can the Chilean make it six successive clean sheets in La Liga, or will Granada finally grab a goal to break Barça’s impressive shut-out streak?
In defense, Dani Alves should return to the line-up in place of the ineffectual Douglas; I guess in hindsight, maybe Dani isn’t so bad after all eh Culés? Criticism of the Barça legend has been mostly unwarranted and perhaps Wednesday’s game was proof enough that Alves still plays an integral role in this Barcelona side.
In the heart of defense, I want to see Gerard Piqué start again after his strong performance against Malaga, but I know that Lucho will probably rotate again and reintroduce both Jeremy Mathieu and Javier Mascherano. Don’t expect any rotation at left-back though; Jordi Alba has that place locked down and should play the full 90 minutes.
Sergio Busquets, Ivan Rakitić and Andrés Iniesta are expected to start tomorrow, although I have an inclination that Enrique may start Xavi in place of Iniesta. With Rafinha injured, there’s not an awful lot of depth aside from that core of four players; although Sergi Roberto did renew his contract today, which should be good news. That being said, Roberto hasn’t offered an awful lot and consequently, many are questioning why Barça have committed to a long-term deal.
It’s a valid concern, but given time Roberto should improve and could prove to be a valuable asset to this team. Just maybe not tomorrow, OK Lucho?
In attack, Lionel Messi will start. And given that they were both subbed off well before the end against Malaga, I half expect that Pedro and Neymar will start again as well. However, if Enrique does opt to make a change it seems more likely that we will see Sandro rather than Munir.
GRANADA
Just last weekend, Joaquin Caparros’ Granada visited one of the toughest stadiums in La Liga: San Mames, and escaped with a narrow 1-0 win. Their success was built on the usual Caparros principles: hard work, discipline and a refusal to be intimidated. Athletic simply couldn’t cope, couldn’t find a way through and ultimately paid the price. If this sounds slightly disconcerting ahead of tomorrow’s kick-off, it should. Any side managed by Joaquin Caparros is dangerous, and capable of securing a result against FC Barcelona.
New signings Luis Martins and Dany Nounkeu have made the squad for the first time since their arrival, while Eddy Silvestre returns as Juan Carlos, Ortuno and Machis all drop out of contention.
FORM GUIDE
Barcelona: WWWWWD
Granada: WWDDWL
LAST MEETING
Granada CF 1-0 FC Barcelona – 12th April 2014 – La Liga
A single goal from Algerian midfielder Yacine Brahimi secured a surprise win for Granada in this La Liga showdown as the unfancied hosts upset the odds to shock the reigning champions.
LIKELY LINE-UPS
Barcelona (4-3-3): Bravo; Alves, Mascherano, Mathieu, Alba; Busquets, Xavi, Rakitić; Pedro, Messi, Neymar
Granada (4-2-3-1): Roberto; Nyom, Babin, Murillo, Foulquier; Rico, Yuste; El Arabi, Silvestre, Piti; Cordoba
MATCH PREDICTION
This will be a tough one, I’m going for a narrow 2-0 win
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