Club football is back and Barcelona resume their campaign with a very intense few weeks upcoming for the defending champions. The Catalans will have 5 games in the next 13 days, including the much-awaited Champions League opener, and starting off this strained run, they are hosting Real Betis tonight at Montjuïc.
Barca News Network brings you 3 talking points ahead of the 5th matchday of the season.
1. International stars
It’s no news that Barcelona has plenty of players to go on international duty, and it’s great to see even the new ones making an impact for their respective national teams. Lamine Yamal has not only got his first senior call-up from Spain at just 16 but already got on the scoresheet on his debut in a 7-1 thrashing of Georgia.
The much-criticized Gavi has also shut down his haters with his influential performance in Luis de la Fuente’s team, also registering a goal in a 6-0 victory against Cyprus. Ferrán Torres also shone in the Red Fury’s jersey as he bagged a brace against Cyprus after being called to cover for an injured Dani Olmo.
Moving on, Raphinha was also decisive in Brazil’s World Cup qualifying games, sending a response to Yamal’s great performances and that they should count on him at the club too. Lewandowski also had a resurrection with two goals scored to remind the world that he is still good enough.
Frenkie de Jong continues to be a central figure in Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands side, Christensen was also involved in Denmark’s successful run while Koundé played in both games for France. The two Joãos also contributed to Portugal’s victories, with Cancelo playing in both games while Félix scoring against Luxembourg in just 30 minutes played.
Ter Stegen and Gündoğan remained mainstays of a chaotic German team that fired manager Hansi Flick after a 4-1 loss to Japan, after which they beat France 2-1. Though the midfielder was forced off the pitch early in the second game due to injury, thankfully, the club’s examinations proved that it was just a scare.
2. Stacked calendar ahead
Tonight’s game against Betis opens a very intense run of games as the Blaugrana will play two games per week until the next international break, and especially the upcoming 13 days in which they will play 5 games in the span of just 13 days seems utterly challenging in terms of fitness and physical load.
It will be crucial to manage the squad so as to prevent excessive load and thus, fatigue and injuries. Xavi isn’t in an easy situation, with players like Pedri and Araújo out injured and Gündoğan also doubtful. He will have to use his squad depth to the fullest and rotate the players as much as needed.
Indeed the Puppet Master might have been too adamant in his personnel choices many times, but with top-class players arriving to deepen the squad with quality additions, this shouldn’t cause too much trouble now, especially knowing that the Barcelona head coach isn’t against experimenting even on a systemic level if needed.
3. Frontline dilemma
With basically all of the Barcelona forwards back in form, it will be a sweet burden for Xavi to select his players for the attacking department. It’s also unclear whether it’s 2 or 3 forwards in the Catalans’ starting lineup as the injury issues and the struggling performances in the first four games of the season might suggest to drop the box midfield setup.
In that case, there would still be 5 players competing for 3 spots. It seems certain that Lewandowski will occupy the striker position, knowing how much Xavi trusts the Pole despite an underwhelming start to the new season and he started all 4 games although Torres was on a fine form, ready to replace him.
Speaking about Torres, who has barely accumulated more than 90 minutes this season for club and country but already has 4 goals to his name, the Spaniard really did everything to convince the coach to give him a starting place. Switching back to the 4-3-3, he could start on the left wing, aiding Lewandowski in attacking the box.
On the right, both Raphinha and Yamal showed enough to earn them the right to start, but knowing how sudden the 16-year-old’s breakthrough was, the fact that he has started all the 3 games since Raphinha got sent off in the league opener – and performed more than convincingly – suggests that the Brazilian starts, also taking into account the importance of rotating the squad.
