A preview of the most pointless semi-final second-leg ever played
FC Barcelona have one foot and four toes in the Copa del Rey final, but they must finish the job tomorrow evening at the Mestalla where they will take on Valencia CF for the third time this season. After drawing their La Liga fixture at the Mestalla late in 2015, it was imperative that Luis Enrique’s side got off to a good start last week in the semi-final first-leg at the Camp Nou and as far as good starts to a knockout tie go, this was an all-time great performance.
With an emphatic 7-0 victory in Catalunya, Barcelona are 99.9% guaranteed of a place in the final, but rules are rules, so they have to show up tomorrow and play out the remaining 90 minutes of the tie. Gary Neville clearly isn’t too optimistic of overturning the deficit and with his side struggling in the league, the former Manchester United right-back has taken the opportunity to call up seven B team players to his squad and it’s expected that Luis Enrique will do something similar when he announces his squad for the short trip down the coast.
Joining the senior squad in training today were Sergi Samper, Gerard Gumbau, Wilfrid Kaptoum, Joan Camara and Dani Romera; Culés should be familiar with the majority of those names with the first four featuring in the earlier rounds against Villanovense, while winger Dani Romera was signed from Almeria back in September.
Whether or not Romera will make his Barça debut remains to be seen, but it would probably be prudent to expect that at least three of the four midfielders will feature at one stage or another during the course of the match.
TEAM NEWS
BARCELONA
Luis Enrique is yet to name his squad at the time of publish, but it doesn’t take a genius to guess that he’ll take the opportunity to ring the changes and field a weakened side with this tie all but over. Of course, we’re still Barcelona, so our weakened side is probably still pretty good – and with Valencia struggling as they are and with one eye on what’s turning out to be a relegation six-pointer against RCD Espanyol this weekend, one might be forgiven for expecting another strong Barça performance.
Marc-André ter Stegen will feature between the sticks, and it goes without saying that the German shot-stopper is amongst one of the best in Spanish football, if not the world. Ergo, even if Valencia generate chances – which they will with their home-field advantage – it’s no given that they will be able to convert against one of the game’s best shot-stoppers. Truthfully, ter Stegen hasn’t been tested since September, but it’s good for him to keep featuring on a weekly basis with the UEFA Champions League about to start up again.
In defense, Aleix Vidal could start at right-back, although he may face competition from Douglas Pereira, who has (rightly) been out of the first team picture, pretty much since joining from Sao Paulo. A rare start for Douglas would liberate the Catalan to feature in his preferred position on the wing, and personally I’m all for that. In the heart of defense, it would be a shock to see anyone other than Marc Bartra and Thomas Vermaelen, leaving Jeremy Mathieu and Adriano to battle it out for the starting berth on the left. My money is on the former Valencia defender getting a start, adjust your expectations for the match accordingly.
In midfield, Sergi Samper should start at pivote which is sure to get some Culés excited for this ultimately pointless match – and there’s reason to believe that Gerard Gumbau will also start, given that his attitude and selfless style seems to gel with Luis Enrique’s coaching mentality. The final midfield spot is up for grabs and I’d like to see Wilfrid Kaptoum get it, but I think it’s more prudent to suggest that Arda Turan will get the nod, especially if Aleix Vidal does start in attack.
The attack would usually pick itself, and tomorrow probably isn’t an exception to that trend; Lionel Messi is out with a kidney problem, and one has to assume that both Luis Suarez and Neymar will be rested after sub-par (and tired) performances against Levante UD. That leaves Enrique with Munir El Haddadi, who for a couple of rounds was the Copa del Rey top-scorer for his exploits in the earlier rounds, and Sandro Rodriguez, who has been somewhat frozen out given our star-studded frontline. The final spot will go to Aleix Vidal or Arda Turan; it’s merely a question of whether Enrique prefers to feature Munir on the right, or the left.
VALENCIA
A cursory glance at the Valencia squad for the match tomorrow is likely to reveal that you don’t quite know as much about Spanish football as you might have hoped. Unless you are also an avid Valencia supporter, or a keen Football Manager enthusiast, you probably won’t recognise a good portion of the names on Neville’s squad list as he has handed call-ups to seven members of the B team.
Part of that is down to circumstance, as it makes little sense to risk key first team players in a meaningless affair like this one, but part of it is forced through various injuries and suspensions. Fear not though; if you were worried about not knowing half of the starting XI tomorrow then you shouldn’t have any reason to be concerned: as I understand the Copa del Rey rules stipulate that a club may only field a final matchday squad with four players from the B team.
If we start tomorrow and Valencia are fielding more, well, at least I’ll be in the running for a lucrative job at Real Madrid, and I can bring them down from the inside.
If by chance you’re wondering about the strength of Valencia’s B team, they’re currently three points behind Barça B in the Segunda B3 – which probably tells you all you need to know.
FORM GUIDE
Barcelona: WWWWWW
Valencia: DDWLLL
LAST MEETING
FC Barcelona 7-0 Valencia CF – 3rd February 2016 – Copa del Rey
LIKELY LINE-UPS
Barcelona (4-3-3): ter Stegen; Douglas, Bartra, Vermaelen, Mathieu; Samper, Gumbau, Turan; Vidal, Sandro, Munir
Valencia (4-2-3-1): Ryan; Vezo, Santos, Abdennour, Gaya; Tropi, Danilo; Salvador, Bakkali, Piatti; Negredo
MATCH PREDICTION
I got a lot of stick for (correctly) predicting that Barça would brutalise Valencia at the Camp Nou, so in case the same people are reading, I’ve predicting a cautious... the hell with it, I think we’ll win again, 2-1 Barcelona.
from Barca Blaugranes - All Posts http://ift.tt/1LfhwWm
0 التعليقات:
إرسال تعليق