الأحد، 2 سبتمبر 2018

Barça squad named for Huesca

By  12:08 ص  No comments

Ernesto Valverde has called up 18 players for the third league game of the season

The next Barcelona match is upon us! The Blaugrana play their third La Liga game of the season against Huesca at Camp Nou, and Ernesto Valverde has called up 18 players for Sunday’s match.

This is the full squad:

Goalkeepers: 1. Marc-André ter Stegen, 13. Jasper Cillessen

Defenders: 2. Nélson Semedo, 3. Gerard Piqué, 15. Clément Lenglet, 18. Jordi Alba, 23. Samuel Umtiti

Midfielders: 4. Ivan Rakitic, 5. Sergio Busquets, 7. Philippe Coutinho, 8. Arthur, 20. Sergi Roberto, 22. Arturo Vidal

Forwards: 9. Luis Suárez, 10. Lionel Messi, 11. Ousmane Dembélé, 14. Malcom, 19. Munir

There are some good news for this list with the return of goalkeeper Cillessen from what at first looked like a serious injury but was just a scare after all. There are injured players who miss out, though, with Carles Aleñá, Sergi Samper and Denis Suarez unavailable. Rafinha and Thomas Vermaelen will watch from the stands per the manager’s decision.

Predicted starting XI (4-4-2):

Ter Stegen; Roberto, Piqué, Umtiti, Alba; Dembélé, Rakitic, Busquets, Coutinho; Messi, Suárez

The match kicks off at 6.30pm CET (Barcelona), 5.30pm BST/WAT (UK & Nigeria), 12.30pm ET, 9.30am PT (USA), 10pm IST (India), and you can join us to follow and comment all the action.

VISCA EL BARÇA!



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السبت، 1 سبتمبر 2018

Barça vs Huesca: Preview

By  8:03 م  No comments

The champions look to end the first month of league play with a strong home victory

FC Barcelona (3rd, 6pts) vs SD Huesca (4th, 4pts)

Competition/Round: 2018-19 La Liga, Matchday 3

Barcelona Outs and Doubts: Carles Aleñá, Denis Suarez, Sergi Samper, Rafinha, Thomas Vermaelen (out)

Huesca Outs and Doubts: None

Date/Time: Sunday, September 2, 2018, 6.30pm CET (Barcelona), 5.30pm BST/WAT (UK & Nigeria), 12.30pm ET, 9.30am PT (USA), 10pm IST (India)

Venue: Camp Nou, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

Referee: Mario Melero López

How to watch on TV: beIN SPORTS (USA & Canada), Eleven Sports 1 (UK), SuperSport 7 (Nigeria), others

How to stream: beIN SPORTS CONNECT (USA & Canada), others

The worst thing about the start of the European season is that its first three months are cut short by the international break. There’s one in September, then October, then November. It’s hard to get too excited about football when you know there are international games coming, especially those right after a World Cup because they mean absolutely NOTHING.

But we have to accept the calendar as it is, and as Barcelona fans we hope to finish the first month of the season with a perfect record. Couting the Spanish Supercup (kinda), Barça have played three competitive games to this point (more like two and a half), and have won all three (really just two and a half wins). The final match before the break is against newly promoted Huesca at Camp Nou, and Barça should be winning their fourth straight game (or third and a half, really).

Huesca aren’t that traditional and don’t have a big budget, so it’s okay to expect an easy game on Sunday. But you shouldn’t: Huesca have four points from their first two games and came back from two goals down to earn a point away to Athletic Bilbao. That’s not easy to do, and they’re a bold team who will not be afraid of Barça.

The champions, on the other hand, have to play better than they did against Valladolid. The pitch was awful, sure, but the performance left a lot to be desired. Back at home with a perfect pitch to play, there are no excuses. It’s a good challenge, and it’s a good chance to prove that the Valladolid game was just a fluke because of the bad pitch. Barça can play better, and must play better. Will they? We’ll find out.

POSSIBLE LINEUPS

Barcelona (4-4-2): Ter Stegen; Roberto, Piqué, Umtiti, Alba; Dembélé, Rakitic, Busquets, Coutinho; Messi, Suárez

Huesca (4-4-2): Werner; Miramón, Pulido, Etxeita, Luisinho; Gallar, Musto, Melero, Gómez; Hernández, Longo

PREDICTION

Again, this won’t be easy, and that’s why Barça need to come out and make a statement: we will win tough games and play well. I trust them to do it: 4-1 to the champions.



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Valverde talks Rafinha, Dembele and the UCL

By  11:03 ص  No comments

The latest from the boss

Ernesto Valverde was back in the hotseat on Saturday as he faced the press ahead of Barcelona’s La Liga clash with Huesca at the Camp Nou.

The Barca boss spoke about a range of topics including Rafinha, Jordi Alba’s Spain snub and Ousmane Dembele’s playing time.

Here are the best bits...

Valverde on Huesca

I don’t think they’ll be coming here with any fear. They will play tight and defensively but they know they have a chance and can cause a surprise. These games can be difficult, we’ve have problems against newly promoted teams in the past.

Valverde on Rafinha

It’s not easy to work with players who want to play more. That’s not just Rafinha, it’s all players they all want to play as much as possible. We have spoken this week but they are private conversations, different ideas about what could happen. Ultimately he’s staying and I think that’s good news for us. He’s a player who can do a lot for us. Let’s see how he progresses, a lot depends on what I can see from him in training and playing games. He’s a player who has a lot to offer that’s why we want him here.

Valverde on Alba’s Spain snub

That’s not a question for me. It’s Luis Enrique who picks the squad, he calls the players he thinks are best for certain games. Alba is not in the team now, but whether he will be there in the future we’ll have to wait and see. I’m sure he’ll work hard to earn a place.

Valverde on using new signings

We know after the international break we have an intense schedule with midweek games in the cup and the Champions League and La Liga as well. We’ll need to call on all our players. Really there haven’t been that many changes because they are the first few games of the season. and we don’t want to make too many changes.

Valverde on Dembele

Every player needs regular football. He’s doing very well this season. We’ve always said he has incredible talent and we are expecting a lot from him. He’s working very hard, let’s hope he gets to play regularly, that depends on a lot of different things. We are happy with his performances this season so far

Valverde on the Champions League

We need to be ready from the start. Every game is key. It’s a short competition, any team can beat you. It’s going to be a competitive group and we can’t afford any slip ups. We need to make sure we win our games. There’s no easy games there that maybe we can relax a little. I think it’s good for us. we tend to play best when the demands are stronger.



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Ajax poke fun at Barca’s De Jong pursuit

By  7:03 ص  No comments

The midfielder has been targeted by Barca

Ajax have poked fun at Barcelona and some of Europe’s top clubs with a social media post after the transfer window closed.

The video shows Marc Overmars in his office on deadline day. When the window closes at midnight, he pulls his phone from a drawer and finds a host of missed calls.

The calls are from clubs such as Barcelona, Tottenham and Borussia Dortmund and Overmars deletes one from Barca at the end of the video.

Here’s the video below:

It’s just a bit of fun from Ajax after a summer which saw Frenkie de Jong heavily linked with a move to the Camp Nou.

De Jong said on several occasions he expected to stay at the club this season, but reports in Spain have claimed Barcelona are confident they can land him next summer.



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FC Barcelona News: 1 September 2018

By  5:18 ص  No comments

The definitive shirt numbers for FC Barcelona’s 2018/19 season | FC Barcelona
With the sumer transfer window officially closing at midnight this past Friday, the FC Barcelona squad for 2018/19 has been set and the shirt numbers allocated. The majority of the players retain the same numbers that they wore last season, with a few exceptions: Philippe Coutinho switches from no.14 to no. 7, and Thomas Vermaelen swaps no. 25 for no.24.

FC Barcelona’s four new faces | FC Barcelona
The summer transfer window in Spain was closed at midnight on Friday, concluding several months of business. FC Barcelona made their signings early, with four new arrivals for 2018/19: Arthur, Lenglet, Malcom and Vidal are the quartet taking part in their first campaign for the Blaugrana this season.

Ernesto Valverde: ‘It’s a difficult group’ | FC Barcelona
Ernesto Valverde assessed the Champions League group stage draw exclusively for the Club’s media. The coach suggested it was a tough group but that it was also “attractive” because, as he pointed out, “they are historic rivals. Tottenham have great physical and technical potential, and were one of the most difficult rivals in pot 2,” Valverde explained.

12 called up for international fixtures | FC Barcelona
The upcoming first international break of the season sees players representing their respective countries in various fixtures, including the new UEFA Nations League competition for European sides. Spain will be taking part in the inaugural edition, and new La Roja coach Luis Enrique has called up both Sergio Busquets and Sergi Roberto for the two games played on 8 and 11 September.

Pique arrested after driving without a valid licence | Marca
On Friday, Barcelona defender Gerard Pique was arrested by police for driving without a valid licence. A patrol stopped the player’s vehicle at three in the afternoon and asked for the required documentations, in which the officer soon discovered the Blaugrana man had been driving illegally due to previous offences.

Barça pay Liverpool an extra €5m for Philippe Coutinho | Sport
FC Barcelona had to make their first additional payment to Liverpool over Philippe Coutinho’s move to Barcelona. The midfielder’s transfer cost €120m plus another €40m in add-ons. The first add-on to the English club, €5m in total, is because Coutinho has completed 25 official matches for Barcelona. His 25th match came against Real Valladolid last weekend.

Cucurella is loaned to Eibar | Marca
Barcelona have loaned Marc Cucurella to Eibar for a season. Los Armeros will have a purchase option, but Barcelona also have a repurchase option if the Basque club decide not to execute theirs.

FC Barcelona Legends to play in Kolkata | FC Barcelona
On Friday, September 28 the Barça Legends will play the Mohun Bagan AC Legends in the Indian city of Kolkata. The match, to be held at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan at 7.00pm local time, will be the eighth match for Albert Ferrer as coach of the team of former Barça players. The match is organized by the Football Next Foundation.



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Barcelona confirm 2018/19 squad numbers

By  3:43 ص  No comments

A few changes at the Camp Nou

Barcelona confirmed their full squad numbers for the 2018/19 season on Saturday.

We already know that Philippe Coutinho has swapped to the No. 7 shirt, while Arthur has taken over Andres Iniesta’s No. 8.

Fellow summer signing Clement Lenglet takes Paulinho’s No.15 shirt, Arturo Vidal takes over Aleix Vidal’s 22 and Malcom will wear No. 14.

Carles Alena takes the No. 26, Thomas Vermaelen has swapped 25 for 24, Munir gets 19 and Rafinha is No. 12.



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How should Barcelona line up against Huesca?

By  1:08 ص  No comments
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