After a challenging and taxing 90 minutes at Estadio de Vallecas, Barcelona are up against their fourth and final La Liga opposition before the international break.
The game kicks off early on Saturday afternoon and will see the Catalans lock horns with Real Valladolid.
Paulo Pezzolano’s side have not enjoyed a strong start to the new campaign and have one win, one defeat and one draw to show after three games.
For Barcelona, however, the game is one of revenge in many ways. After all, the last time they faced Valladolid, they fell to a 3-1 defeat where they were completely outclassed.
Heading into the weekend’s clash, Hansi Flick will be without the services of Marc Bernal after it was confirmed that he ruptured his ACL earlier this week. The manager thus has big decisions to take from a tactical standpoint.
Barça Universal brings you three talking points ahead of Barcelona vs Real Valladolid.
A start for the match-winner
Barcelona’s win over Rayo Vallecano will be remembered for many specific moments including the heartbreaking injury Marc Bernal suffered. The positive takeaway from the game, however, was the debut of Dani Olmo.
After being unavailable for the team’s opening two league games through registration issues, the Spaniard finally made his first appearance in the Blaugrana colours midweek and dished out an absolute clinic of a performance.
Coming on as a second-half substitute, Olmo instantly improved Barcelona’s attack after his incorporation. His smart runs into the box and comfort in the buildup made the team more potent in the final third and the chances created showed the same.
In the end, it was the debutant who struck a wonderful ball into the net for the winning goal of the night, capping off a perfect debut. Looking ahead to tomorrow, Olmo will almost certainly earn his first start.
It remains to be seen if Flick deploys Olmo in the central area behind the striker or on the left-wing for he is capable of operating in both positions. In either case, Raphinha and Olmo will constantly shuffle between the two positions during the game.
Objective clean sheet
Hansi Flick’s side’s start to the new season has been as close to perfect as it gets. The one black mark, however, has been the team’s inability to keep a clean sheet.
Barcelona conceded the opening goal against Valencia when Hugo Duro got the better of the goalkeeper in the 44th minute. In the clash against Athletic Club, the Basque side found the back of the net again towards the end of the first half.
When Barcelona took on Rayo Vallecano midweek, Unai Lopez scored the opener in just the ninth minute and the Blaugrana were forced to mount a comeback.
The team’s objective tomorrow, thus, will be on maintaining the first clean sheet of the season after conceding three goals in three games.
All eyes, needless to say, will be on Marc-Andre ter Stegen whose shot-stopping and overall quality have come under scrutiny in recent weeks. The Barcelona captain must step up if the his team are to progress deep in any competition.
No time to slack off
The calendar for Barcelona in La Liga so far has been unforgiving. After all, the club were put up against three very tricky opponents with unfavourable match officials in their three opening games.
Despite the hurdles in their path, Hansi Flick and Co. won all three games and are currently the sole leaders in La Liga. With the international break just around the corner, the target will be to make it 12 points before dispersing for the hiatus.
After three tricky opponents in Valencia, Athletic Club and Rayo Vallecano, Saturday afternoon sees Barcelona face one of their easier games on paper. After all, Real Valladolid have already dropped five points and even lost 3-0 to Real Madrid.
Given the form they are in, Barcelona will be the overwhelming favourites tomorrow. It is imperative, however, that they keep their mental composure and do not slack off just before the hiatus.
After all, every point above Real Madrid at this stage is invaluable for Barcelona as they look to get out of the reach of their arch-rivals at the earliest.
