Champions face off against their biggest rivals in the biggest games in the game.
Barcelona’s biggest week of the season so far got off to a flying start with two hard-fought wins against Athletic Bilbao and Shakhtar Donetsk.
But the biggest challenge comes this Saturday when Barcelona play their biggest game against Real Madrid.
That’s because the first El Clasico of the season will take place at the Montjuïc Olympic Stadium, stadium no.1 in La Liga.
Despite having an unbeaten record in all competitions this season, it’s safe to say that Barca lost this competition as they faced Madrid without their best and most important players due to an injury crisis. Avoiding defeat would be a good result at this point, and finding a way to steal all three points would be a dream come true to end an important week on a high.
Madrid will be desperate to win this game and establish themselves as title favorites and it will be quite a battle.
We believe Xavi Hernández will prepare his troops for battle on Saturday.
Defense
We don’t yet know how many of the six injured players will be in the squad, but Xavi has said he won’t take any unnecessary risks and it would be a huge shock to see any of them injured.
Launch XI Player. So we have to assume that the coach will work with what he has and, despite the lack of options, some important decisions will have to be made.
The top choice is a defender, Joao Cancelo is the number one right back but he is not the best player for this match.
Xavi’s biggest and best tactical innovation as Barca manager has been using Ronald Araujo as a full-back to tackle Vinicius Junior, and it’s a big question mark whether the manager will stick to the formula that has worked so well for him in the past. two years.
Yes to the club.
Cancelo has more attacking potential.
We think the answer is a combination of two things.
Maybe Xavi with Arudho on the right, Cancelo on the right wing, Andreas Christensen and Inigo Martinez as the two center backs and Alejandro Balde on the left.
This is a way to keep the match between Araujo and Vinicius while giving Cancelo full license and freedom to influence the match, with the Portuguese tasking Araujo to help Uruguay not miss the entire match.
Isolated from the dangerous Brazilian.
Xavi always prefers teams with strong defense in Clásico and this approach often worked against Madrid.
Cancelo’s presence forces the manager to make interesting decisions and forces Xavi to think outside the box, but Cancelo is good enough not to make him look too defenseless to play on the wing.
Midfield
Gabi is back after missing the game against Shakhtar Donetsk through suspension, which is no bad thing considering his countless appearances for club and country and the physical demands of a game like El Clásico.
Gavi is fresh and ready to play and we know Ilkay Gundogan will be one of his midfield partners.
The question is who will be the third midfielder?
Or will Xavi decide to use a four-man midfield to match Madrid’s numbers in the middle? Oriol Romeu and Fermin López therefore both start with the young López opting to play further afield as a false left-back.
However, we think Cancelo will play alongside two natural strikers, so there are only three midfield spots available and only one player capable of filling the last spot.
Fermin and Al established themselves as important players in their 20s.
In recent matches he has shown that he is mentally and physically ready for big matches like the Clasico.
Attack
If we are correct in predicting Cancelo as a right winger, the last two spots in the squad are easy to predict. Ferran Torres and Joao Felix make up the front three, while Ramin Yamal returns to the bench to start.
Even if Cancelo plays as a right-back, it is very likely that Xavi will choose at least a four-man midfielder who prefers a defensive structure, so it is hard to see Yamal starting.
Yamal may not have been as striking as he was earlier in the season, but the 16-year-old could wreak havoc as a substitute, especially if the more experienced players start strong and perform well.
Ramin had a chance to stand out in El Clásico in the second half.
Team XI-a: Ter Stegen; Araujo, Christensen, Inigo, Balde; Fermin, Gundogan, Gabi; Cancelo, Ferran, Felix (4-3-3)
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