Barcelona are keen to gain an early lead in the La Liga title race this season, as they hope to retain their league title from last season. Already, the race for the trophy is in full flow, with rival Real Madrid leading the table.
In this crucial stage of the season, the Catalans have already experienced a huge injury crisis that threatens to ruin their title hopes. To overcome their troubles, the team must first face the Athletic Club in their next game.
Barcelona vs Athletic Club preview
Barcelona will face Athletic Club tomorrow at their temporary home ground, the Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium. The match will kick off at around 3 p.m. in the USA.
Barcelona are third in the league, just 4 points off the league leaders Real Madrid with 25 points. Girona are second with 22 points. Meanwhile Athletic are sixth with 17 points.
Barcelona have good history with their opponents, winning the last three league games against them. Furthermore, they have been undefeated against them since August 2019. The manager of Athletic Club is former Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde.
The expected lineup for Barcelona is expected to be Ter Stegen in goal, Joao Cancelo, Andreas Christensen, Ronald Araujo, and Alejandro Balde in defense, Ilkay Gundogan, Oriol Romeu, and Gavi in midfield, while Lamine Yamal, Ferran Torres and Joao Felix will make up the atatcking line.
Ernesto Valverde’s side could have Unai Simon as the goalkeeper, while Ă“scar de Marcos, Aitor Paredes, Daniel Vivian and Yuri Berchiche will be in the backline.
Ander Herrera, Dani Garcia, and Oihan Sancet will be the midfielders, and Inaki Williams, captain Iker Muniain, and Gorka Guruzeta will lead the attack.
Xavi urges team to recover
The Catalans will be glad to know that youngsters Lamine Yamal and Alejandro Balde will be both fit for the match, which is a great relief for manager Xavi Hernandez.
Though the team will have many key players out through injury, which is a major concern, The list of injured players includes Robert Lewandowski, Pedri, Raphinha, Frenkie de Jong, Jules Kounde and Sergi Roberto.
Barcelona have also worriedly dropped points against Mallorca and Granada, both ending in disappointing 2-2 draws. Manager Xavi Hernadez admitted in the pre-game press conference that the team has been poor recently and wanted his players to reclaim their playing style.
“At the start of the season, we’ve had some great moments of playing well. We must recover our ideology and get the three points by playing well.”
He also mentioned the huge injury crisis, but said that it is not an excuse to lose. “We are in a situation with a lot of absentees, but it won’t be an excuse for the game and to be able to play well.”
Tomorrow’s matchup between the two teams will be an important one and full of consequences for both. Who do you think will come out as the victor? Make sure to let us know in the comments section.
