Barcelona secured a top-eight UEFA Champions League end with their midweek win over FC Copenhagen, and thereby diminished the pressure of enjoying two further video games within the month forward.
Nevertheless, they don’t face any rapid respite on their schedule as they return to motion in La Liga lower than 72 hours after their final sport – this time towards Elche at Estadio Martinez Valero.
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Dropping to Actual Sociedad earlier this month meant Barcelona allowed Actual Madrid inside one level of them within the league desk. They did win over Actual Oviedo after the catastrophe within the Basque nation, however even that sport was something however convincing.
The first goal tomorrow, thus, should be to get again to successful convincingly, particularly towards a difficult opponent who even took factors off Actual Madrid earlier this season.
Barça Common brings you three speaking factors forward of Elche vs Barcelona.
Respiration area in midfield
If there was one issue complicating Barcelona’s conflict towards FC Copenhagen midweek, it was the crew’s scenario in midfield with each Pedri and Frenkie de Jong out.
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Actually, the dearth of a pure central midfielder even noticed them endure within the first half of the sport with an absence of full management, and solely Marc Bernal’s introduction after the break helped regain the cohesive feeling on the sphere.
Whereas Pedri continues to be unavailable tomorrow, the Dutchman will likely be again for the Blaugrana, which comes as an enormous enhance for Hansi Flick. In any case, he was solely out by an accumulation of yellow playing cards in Europe.
With De Jong again, Flick’s choices in midfield open up as soon as once more, and will probably be fascinating to see what dynamic he chooses to go for on the evening.
The Dutchman will likely be an undisputed starter and the one pulling the strings and dictating the tempo on the evening, handing the crew severe management in the course of the sphere.
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Flick’s solely dilemma, due to this fact, is whether or not at hand Eric Garcia, Dani Olmo, or Marc Bernal the second place within the pivot.
A battle for management
Eder Sarabia’s Elche are not any pushovers. (Picture by Pedro Salado/Getty Photographs)
Whereas Elche could certainly sit exterior the highest ten within the league standings, they’ve been one of many league’s most spectacular groups compared on different parameters.
For starters, preventing within the mid-table is already a serious step up from the place the crew have been final season, however what makes them stand out distinctively is the model of soccer they embrace and advocate.
Underneath Eder Sarabia, Elche have turn into a mini-Barcelona by way of their strategy as they give the impression of being to dominate the possession, press excessive and defend with a high-line – all concepts from Flick’s e-book.
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Over midway into the season, they boast of a staggering possession common of 58.9% with 86.7% correct passes and a 13% aim conversion ratio.
As compared, leaders Barcelona have a median possession of 68.8%, 89.4% correct passes, and a conversion price of 14%.
Whereas Barcelona’s superior possession is comprehensible given the participant profiles they possess, it’s exceptional that Elche are neck-to-neck on so many different parameters that present their dominance and management of the ball.
Tomorrow’s conflict, therefore, is not going to simply be a tussle for objectives however a severe battle for management as either side is not going to look to desert their philosophy. Even once they met earlier this season, they completed the sport with practically equal possession.
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The battle for management of the proceedings, for sure, will dictate the outcome tomorrow, and Barcelona’s midfield should step up specifically. In any case, it is not going to be straightforward to maintain up with such depth and strain with out Pedri.
A wanted tweak in defence
It’s well-known that Barcelona and Flick’s ways prioritise attacking energy over defensive stability, typically offering the primary at the price of the latter.
There may be, nevertheless, no excuse for the crew frequently taking place early and preventing for a comeback – one thing the supervisor overtly admitted to in his .
Because the season progresses, the significance of fresh sheets and defensive stability grows paramount, and transferring Eric Garcia again to central defence could resolve part of that downside.
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Whereas it’s true that Barcelona haven’t had a single go-to centre-back pairing this season, the Pau Cubarsi-Eric Garcia mixture has been the closest to wanting like a cushty pair.
They do have their deficiencies, significantly in defending towards aerial threats, however they’ve proven that they’ve what it takes to remain on the identical wavelength and complement one another’s flaws.
Shifting Garcia again to central defence tomorrow, thus, could also be an answer that Flick considers, particularly with De Jong again in midfield. Evidently, a severe focus should be positioned on bettering the crew’s numbers on the again.