After a disappointing result in midweek. Where a defeat at home to Frankfurt saw us knocked out of the Europa League. Monday night sees Barça come up vs Cadiz. Live from the Camp Nou. A team that always causes us problems, be that home or away. But like with all our last league games, a positive result here is crucial! We’re going to be hoping to see not only a good reaction from Thursday Night. But also a more impressive turnout from the fans. What we saw in terms of attendance last Thursday was Shameful.
The amount of away fans at our home was unacceptable. And should never of been allowed to happen. But we must move on from that. This team and these players deserve the fans support. What they’ve been doing over the last few months has been nothing short of incredible. And one disappointing result won’t change that. We’ve been exceeding expectations so much over the last several months. The only thing Thursday night served up for us was a reality check. We’re on the right path.
We’ve got the perfect coach and a squad full of incredible young talent. The future at this club is so bright, but we have to remain patient. Rebuilds like this always take time. And we’ll face difficult results along the way, but every good team experiences that. The most important thing is how you can learn from any mistakes and errors. Both on and off the pitch. And how you can move forward and keep growing. Cadiz is a tricky test for a depleted Barça squad. But we have to turn up for the occasion. A good result is vital!
The beginning of an intense week:
Not only is Monday night a good opportunity for us to bounce back. A chance for us to get back on track and begin to build back some confidence. It’s also a night which marks the beginning of a very intense and important week for the league season. Like we know, Cadiz is our first opponent. And they are not any pushovers. They currently find themselves 18th in the league. But that really doesn’t mean a thing. You only have to look back to our last league game against Levante. They’re rock bottom on the league and still made life very difficult for us.
Luuk de Jong saved us in the dying minutes of the game. One other thing to keep in mind about Cadiz. Is the fact that since they’ve been promoted, we haven’t beaten them. Our last result came as a 0-0 draw away from home at the beginning of the season. So, regardless of their league position. They’re still likely to make the game difficult for us. Which is why it is vital we turn up for the occasion. This game is then followed in quick succession by a trip to the Annoeta on Thursday. Where we’ll be facing Real Sociedad. Finally, on Sunday we play our game in hand against Rayo Vallecano at the Camp Nou. So, starting the week off on a positive note is so important.
Predicted lineup:
When it comes to the lineup, things are looking quite bare in terms of options. Especially in defence. Which is of course the most concerning thing. Due to an accumulation of yellow cards, we will be without Ronald Araujo for tonight’s game. Pique is not yet fully recovered from his injury so we will be without him too. Which means that the only players in central defence Xavi can choose from. Is Lenglet, Eric Garcia and Mingueza. Mingueza was awful against Frankfurt.
Althiugh to be fair to him, he was playing out of position at right back. And it was his first start for a number of months. Then we have Lenglet. Clement Lenglet. There’s not much needed to be said about him. He’s just a liability. He carries this nervous energy with him which just spreads to the rest of the team. He’s not fun to watch. Eric has been brilliant in recent weeks. He’s given away a couple of stupid penalties. But apart from that, he’s been very solid. But he needs a strong figure next to him. And sadly neither Mingueza or Lenglet fit that description.
In the midfield, things are looking a little more secure. Although we are going to be without our talisman and by far the best player in the team. Pedri picked up a hamstring injury on Thursday. Meaning thst we are not only going to be missing him tonight. But it looks like we won’t see him again until next season. It’s a massive blow for us. In terms of his creativity and goal scoring, especially in recent weeks. We’ve been relying on him a lot. It’s a huge miss, but we’ve got players in the midfield who can step up. Most notably Gavi and Frenkie De Jong. Who were both brilliant the other night against frankfurt. We’re going to be relying on them a lot more now in Pedri’s absence.
When it comes to the attack. We may see a few changes. The attacking trident of Ferran, Aubameyang and Dembele has been electric in recent months. But Cadiz is a team that will sit very very deep. So there isn’t going to be a lot of space in behind. We may see a couple of changes to the attack. To shit the style of tram we’re going to play. Maybe, if and when the game opens up.
We can bring on someone like Dembele or Adama to exploit the space in behind. But starting the game, I feel Aubameyang will be rested. Ferran with his movement on and off the ball will cause problems so he’ll remain in the starting lineup. But I do think we may even see someone like Memphis get a start in the team. Or even Luuk de Jong. With all the crosses going into the box, he could be such a clever selection. Scoring first is important in this game. In order to open the game up. Let’s hope for a good reaction and a return of some confidence!
Visca BARÇA!
Ter stegen
Dest -Eric- Lenglet- Alba
Gavi – Busi- Frenkie
Dembele- Luuk- Ferran
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