Full coverage of FC Barcelona's Jornada 4 clash with Levante UD at the Ciutat de Valencia, as Luis Enrique searches for his fifth successive win as Blaugrana head coach
FC Barcelona return to La Liga action tomorrow when they make the trip to Valencia, as Jornada 4 pits the league’s best starters against its worst, as league leading Barça take on lowly Levante UD at the Ciutat de Valencia. With four wins from four under the guidance of new head coach Luis Enrique, the Blaugrana are high on confidence and against all the odds, are yet to even concede a goal in a competitive fixture this season.
Levante on the other hand have slumped to two losses and a draw from their opening three fixtures, and are yet to register a single goal. In fact, you have to go back to early May for the last time that Levante found the back of the net in a 2-0 win over local rivals Valencia. Even throughout preseason, Los Granotes struggled for goals and it’s a concern that Jose Luis Mendilibar would rather not have to contend with as he prepares to welcome Luis Enrique’s in-form side into his own backyard.
Historically, the Ciutat de Valencia has been something of a "bogey" venue for the Blaugrana; whether it’s the hostile atmosphere, the small-town feel of the club or perhaps even the standard of the playing surface, Barça don’t like their trips to Levante, which has caused a few shock results over the years.
In the majority of these instances Barcelona have been held to 1-1 draws by their plucky opponents, but given the form of each side that doesn’t seem likely tomorrow, with the Blaugrana overwhelming favourites to secure the three points and maintain their lead over Real and Atletico Madrid.
In Saturday’s early kick-off Los Blancos ran riot at the Riazor, helping themselves to eight goals against a hapless Deportivo La Coruna defense. To their credit, Super Depor managed two goals of their own in reply, but be that as it may, Real Madrid will be very happy indeed with their 8-2 win. Eyebrow raising indeed, but there are positives to be taken from this result.
The first, rather childish observation is that Real Madrid are still well adrift of FC Barcelona, and will be further adrift if Levante succumb to defeat tomorrow. The second is that Real Madrid continue to haemorrhage goals and have now conceded eight goals in just four matches – that’s the highest total in the league if you exclude poor Depor.
If we can continue playing as we have been, scoring goals, winning games and keeping clean sheets, Real Madrid shouldn’t really pose a threat. Let’s put them six points behind again; let’s make it five from five and escape Levante with a win.
TEAM NEWS
Luis Enrique will announce his squad for tomorrow’s match in the morning, meaning that we are heading into this one "blind" so to speak. However, while we don’t know who and who will not make the cut, we can be logical about the whole process and think about recent developments in the squad. Neymar for example left the Camp Nou on Wednesday showing visible signs of a knock (or two) following the rough treatment he was subjected to by the Cypriot champions.
On a likely sub-standard surface, it would probably be wise if Lucho left Neymar at home, or at least on the bench. Thomas Vermaelen still doesn’t have the medical green light and as such, shouldn’t travel. Jordi Masip isn’t required now that Marc-André ter Stegen is officially back and of course Douglas isn’t going to make the trip either. We can probably factor Sandro and Munir El Haddadi into the reckoning once again, while Sergi Roberto probably didn’t do himself many favours with his performance against APOEL.
Sergi Samper has returned to the B team after his assured display at pivote, while logic dictates that two of the defensive candidates will miss the cut. Who I hear you ask? Well, we’ll get to them later.
Claudio Bravo should retain his place in goal despite Marc-André ter Stegen’s impressive debut display against APOEL. The German shot-stopper looked great in his Barça bow, exhibiting great concentration and good composure in possession, but ultimately irrespective of how well he played, Bravo was always going to retain his place.
The Chilean hasn’t put a foot wrong in his three appearances, and I truly believe that at present, he is better suited than ter Stegen for the demands of the domestic game. By nature, this battle was always going to be unfair on one of the participants.
In defense, Martin Montoya has started the last two matches for the Blaugrana and could be in line to extend that run to three, but with two more games to contend with this week, Luis Enrique may opt to rest Montoya and restore Dani Alves to the starting line-up. Levante are likely to drop deep in an attempt to absorb pressure and make life difficult for the Barça frontline and that’s where Alves’ offensive instincts could prove indispensible.
Certainly, I would elect for the Brazilian in this instance and pair him with another "unpopular" figure amongst Culés, Gerard Piqué. The elegant central defender won the match on Wednesday with a fine headed goal and has looked nothing short of irrepressible thus far this season. Defensively, he has been dominant and offensively he has been a handful, and yet he is still not a regular in Lucho’s starting line-up.
I expect that to change very soon, and I expect that Piqué may finally be afforded the opportunity to develop something of a partnership with one of our summer signing, Jeremy Mathieu. The Frenchman provides a natural balance to the defense, and his pace helps cover for any mistakes Piqué might make during the course of the match – they have the potential to form a formidable partnership, but they will need time and experience playing together to do that.
On the left-hand side of defense, Jordi Alba will make his return to the starting line-up after a well-deserved rest against APOEL, a match that in hindsight, Barça probably his presence. Adriano was by no means "bad", but he didn’t make much of an impact with his many touches of the ball and didn’t offer as much dynamism as the electric Catalan wing-back, allowing APOEL to sit back and relax when the ball was pushed out wide.
Similar to Alves on the opposite side of the field, we need players like Alba more than ever against deep-set opposition defenses and with Levante tipped to park the bus, there’s absolutely no reason why Jordi isn’t one of the first names on the teamsheet.
The first name however could well that of Sergio Busquets, the Catalan pivote who is the metronome in the Barça midfield. When he’s on form, the Barça maquina keeps ticking along nicely, and indeed he is often the catalyst when Barça push the tempo and move through the gears. His quick-thinking has helped break down some of the toughest opposition already this season; can he do it again tomorrow?
Busquets will have help as usual, and not just any old help, but Ivan Rakitić and Andrés Iniesta. I could go on for days about the impact that the Croatian midfielder has had on this team, but I’m sure everyone has got the idea by now – Rakitić is good. Extremely good, and tactically, he is 110% crucial to Luis Enrique’s philosophy.
Cliché, I know, but it’s true; just look at Wednesday’s performance – we replaced Rakitić with arguably the best midfield player of all-time, and yet because Xavi doesn’t play the same way as Rakitić we looked a little off the pace, a little off-beat. It’s staggering that Rakitić has made such a profound impact in such a short space of time, but that’s testament to his immense ability and the unwavering faith that Lucho has in Ivan to lead this team to glory.
Paired with Iniesta in the engine room, Barcelona still possesses the best midfield this world has to offer and that’s where the bulk of our games will be won. Yes, Lionel Messi will be statistically important and play a major role, but arguably it’s the midfield that takes the crown – because they offer so much and are so crucial at both ends of the field.
Perhaps more so at the offensive end, Iniesta is the difference-maker; his close control, 20:20 vision and selflessness are often the undoing of many an opposing defense; but he’s yet to really hit top form yet this season. Can Iniesta raise his game tomorrow and help inspire Barça to their fifth successive win?
In attack, I mentioned earlier than I expect Neymar to start from the bench. I’d rather see him on the field as well; he’s a joy to watch and is arguably one of the very best in the world but his fitness comes first, especially with Suarez banned and an already healthy lead to work with points-wise in La Liga. Lionel Messi will shoulder the majority of the burden anyway, it’s just a case of hoping the supporting cast can make a significant contribution in his absence.
After four successive games of Munir, maybe it’s time for Sandro to get his chance in the starting line-up? That being said, I would be more than happy to see Munir make his fifth start tomorrow and with Neymar a doubt, Pedro will round off the attack. How about a goal to mark the occasion eh Pedro?
LEVANTE
Ivan Lopez, David Navarro, Nikos Karabelas, Issam El Adoua and Juanfran are all injured, leaving Levante with something of a defensive crisis – not exactly the ideal time to welcome a league leading Barcelona side anyway. Also absent are Jaime Gavilan and Rafael Martins, as Jose Luis Mendilibar faces the challenge of his managerial career as he attempts to steal a point or three with a severely weakened squad.
FORM GUIDE
Barcelona: WWWWWW
Levante: LLDLLD
LAST MEETING
FC Barcelona 5-1 Levante UD – 29th January 2014 – Copa del Rey
After a 4-1 win in the first-leg at the Ciutat de Valencia, Barça piled on the misery at the Camp Nou with a heavy 5-1 win, as goals from Alexis Sánchez (2), Adriano Correia, Carles Puyol and Cesc Fàbregas secured a 9-2 aggregate victory.
LIKELY LINE-UPS
Barcelona (4-3-3): Bravo; Alves, Piqué, Mathieu, Alba; Busquets, Rakitić, Iniesta; Munir, Messi, Pedro
Levante (4-3-3): Jesus; Pedro Lopez, Vyntra, Rodas, Tono; Simao, Perez, Victor C.; Xumetra, Barral, Morales
MATCH PREDICTION
Another close match I think, but Barça will have enough quality to shine through and pick up their fifth straight win. 3-0 Barcelona for me.
from Barca Blaugranes - All Posts http://ift.tt/1rdlXtY
0 التعليقات:
إرسال تعليق