The Catalans will play against Osasuna on Tuesday in Pique’s last game as a professional footballer and with the World Cup in the offing
Barcelona will try to use all their senses this Tuesday in the difficult game against Osasuna in El Sadar. The team led by Xavi Hernández arrives at the appointment with Gerard Piqué, who will play his last game as a professional, monopolizing all the spotlights and with the World Cup just around the corner. Not being distracted will therefore be the main goal of a team that is in top form and wants to finish the first part of the season before the break with a good feeling until Christmas.
“It’s a tough rival, intense and that’s at a great time. It is fifth in the standings and it is also a very difficult stadium, but we arrived in good shape. We want the three points to be ready well before the World Cup,” Xavi assured Monday at the press conference before his team’s match against Osasuna. The Tarrasa coach knows how important it is to immerse the break of more than a month in a to face good dynamics and to dispel that spirit that bid them farewell to the champions at the first substitution.
A win away from home against Osasuna would confirm the good feelings the Catalans have left in recent league games. Xavi’s men face the final game before the World Cup with four wins in a row after beating Villarreal, Athletic, Valencia and Almería by a record ten goals for and none against. These numbers have made the Catalans see the glass half full again and their coach thinks theirs are “on the right track” as “significant growth has been seen”.
To get three fundamental points against Osasuna, Xavi can count on Piqué, the great protagonist of the squad. The central defender will end his sports career with El Sadar in a match in which Koundé, Sergi Roberto, Araujo, Kessié and Memphis will not be present due to injury. These absences will determine an eleven that could be very similar to the one imposed on Almería. Geri could be a starter on his last day in the office alongside Eric García and the big news could be Raphinha, less common in recent games, who could get another chance in the trident alongside Dembele and Lewandowski.
On the other hand, there is a team that comes to this game at the best moment of the season. Osasuna is the big surprise of the league after finishing fifth in the standings and with the possibility, if he beats Barcelona on Tuesday, to sleep in Champions League positions. No one like Jagoba Arrasate’s team has managed to get a better performance from their scoring production – barely 15 goals – and very few, only Betis and Barcelona, have been able to add more points at home. The Navarrese have won five of the seven matches they have played in El Sadar and built a fortress in which Sevilla, Cádiz, Rayo Vallecano, Espanyol and Valladolid have already fallen.
To score again against a league behemoth -he already drew against Real Madrid in the Santiago Bernabéu-, Jagoba Arrasate will have to overcome the injuries of Kike Saverio and Ez Abde. The former Barcelona player will not be able to meet up with those who were his teammates last season due to a muscle tear and will be the major absence in a team that has just won 1-2 at Balaidos and has a very recognizable 11 found in recent games. The Garcías in the back, Lucas Torró, Moi Gómez, Chimy Ávila, Budimir and company are beginning to know each other by heart and threaten the good momentum of the Catalans ahead of the World Cup in Qatar.
Source: La Verdad
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