Xavi’s team must beat Athletic, so far one of the league’s cocks, to follow in the footsteps of leader Real Madrid
Barcelona continues its special October marathon with one of those games that cannot be trusted. The team led by Xavi receives Athletic, a team that has already shown its potential this season, with the aim of achieving three points that will allow it to endorse the improvement shown against Villarreal and follow in Real Madrid’s footsteps in the leadership of the league. It will be the return of Ernesto Valverde, a coach who won four titles as a culé and who is now back to research the new Barça project.
“It will be a tough rival, aggressive in recovery from loss and under high pressure. Valverde is more attacking than Marcelino, so they will put us under pressure. They work very well,” Xavi assured in the press conference ahead of his team’s match against Athletic. Tarrasa’s coach knows he is up against a rival who will demand the best version of his team and is preparing changes to maintain the physical level they showed against Villarreal. “I would like to give the eleven continuity, but there is fatigue and discomfort. It is necessary to prioritize that the team is one hundred percent,” said the Catalan.
If the Xavi Athletic side wants to beat Xavi, they will have to keep the good feelings they showed against on the weekday. The Culés managed to abort their rival’s transitions, the great sin in previous commitments, and were finally able to get deep off the wings thanks to Jordi Alba and Sergi Roberto, two fullbacks who became wingers for much of the clash. That image aims to show a squad eager to get out of the tsunami that caused the Champions League debacle against Inter and the classic defeat with a string of successive wins before the World Cup break in Qatar.
To do this, Xavi will be able to count on all the players who beat Villarreal just three days ago. He has all the players in the roster except Ronald Araujo, Christensen and Memphis Depay, who will be in doubt until the last minute as he goes through the final stretch of his recovery. These absences will determine an eleven in which Xavi could continue to choose to move chips before the agglomeration of games. Bellerín, Eric García and Balde could return to the rear, while Raphinha and Dembele would have a few minutes on the striker after halftime against Villarreal and accompany Lewandowski, untouchable for Xavi according to the performance the Pole has delivered since he started the season.
The game will also serve for Ernesto Valverde to meet again with the Camp Nou. The Txingurri won two league titles as a coach, a Copa del Rey and a Spanish Super Cup, enough background for Barca fans to have fond memories of him and still be the last coach to win a league with Barca. That thought will linger with a coach who arrives at what was his home with a rejuvenated team, who have signed a remarkable championship start and have all the attributes needed to harm an opponent like Xavi’s. The new Athletic are the third highest-scoring team in the League, behind only Madrid and Barca, thanks to the giddiness of the Williams brothers and the arrival of the second-line players like Sancet, Berenguer and Muniain.
That formula will be at Camp Nou and Valverde will also be able to count on all his players except the injured Ander Capa and Jon Morcillo. Thus, the Txingurri will be able to deploy a squad very similar to Tuesday’s against Getafe, with Iñaki Williams at the top and with Muniain, Sancet, Berenguer and Nico Williams as luxury squires to try and scare a Barça to make. which is not characterized by its defensive strength.
Source: La Verdad
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