Match Preview : Barca VS Girona

After a week off since our last game, Barca are finally back in action this evening as we face Girona, live from the Estadi Olympic. At 9pm local time, we will be facing possibly the most impressive team of the season so far. Not only is it a Catalan Derby, but it is yet another key game in the league calendar. Girona have been remarkable this season.

I don’t think anyone expected them to have a season like they have done so far, so that’s all credit to their coach and the individual players too. Since they were promoted back in to La Liga only a few seasons back, they’ve comfortably cemented themselves as one of the most entertaining teams to watch in the league.

So, although by name they aren’t the biggest, this is definitely going to be a huge test for us later tonight. And these sort of games are coming thick and fast. What’s nice however is that we have had week off since our last game. Something that is so rare in the modern game.

A Quick Look at our opponent:

Like I’ve said previously, this isn’t going to be a straightforward game. It’s definitely another huge test for Barca, and we need to treat Girona with the respect they deserve. They’re not just a mid table team. They are in the top 4 and are direct rivals for the title this season. And that’s how we need to turn up to the game. With that mentality.

Girona have a few familiar faces in the team like Eric Garcia and Pablo Torre. Both on loan, however Torre isn’t expected to play because of the all important “fear clause”. Eric Garcia doesn’t have that clause which means he is most likely to play. We can’t forget about key players like Aleix Garcia, who really is the man who makes this Girona side tick. As well as Savio who can cause us problems.

So, like I’ve said, it isn’t going to be an easy game, but we just need to make sure we turn up to the game with the right mentality, just like we did against Atleti.

Predicted Lineup:

Plain and simply, I don’t see Xavi making many changes from the team that played this time last week against Atleti. And for me, i would keep it the same.

Balde could possibly come in at left back, or maybe we could try him on the right hand side. It’s an idea I’ve had a for a while. He’s rock solid defensively and having him on the right means he can cut in on that left foot. I don’t think that experiment will happen in todays key game, but id love to see it in the near future.

Cancelo has been doing incredibly well on the left, so its good competition for Balde. But i do think people need to give the kid a break, the treatment he’s received in the media recently has been nothing short of disgusting.

What i want to see is some consistency in the lineups, and its been difficult to do that so far this season, but what we saw against Atleti is what we all want to see more of. So I’d play the same exact team. And let the partnerships on the pitch naturally come together.

We’ve got great options off the bench like Yamal, Fermin and Ferran who can come on and give us something different, but I’m definitely expecting to see the exact same lineup.

One thing is for sure, Kounde has to be on the right hand side. We do have that threat with Savio there, so Xavi may be tempted to deploy Araujo there, but I don’t want to see that. Araujo is one of the best central defenders in the world, so he stays there.