Barcelona’s final game ahead of the next international break sees them return to action in La Liga and take a trip to the Basque country where they will lock horns against Real Sociedad.
On Sunday night, the Catalans take on Imanol Barrenetxea’s side at Reale Arena, a stadium where they have historically enjoyed a strong record. Coming off a 5-2 win in the UEFA Champions League, moreover, they will be riding a wave of momentum.
La Real, meanwhile, lost to Viktoria Plzen in the Europa League earlier this week and have two losses in their last three games across all competitions. They are currently placed 11th in the league standings with just 15 points in 12 games.
Barça Universal brings you three talking points ahead of Real Sociedad vs Barcelona.
Time to rotate in attack?
The hectic calendar has not coerced Flick to rotate his players much, and rightfully so given that he has a flawless working formula on his hands.
The German tactician has been very smart and minimalistic with his rotations so far. Earlier this week, he only gave Dani Olmo and Alejandro Balde a break given their injury history and persisted with the same core.
The return of resources in midfield has provided the manager with greater scope to rotate in midfield, but there is a real need to bring in changes in attack as the trio of Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski and Lamine Yamal has seen little to no rest in recent days.
Moreover, all three players are vital for their national teams and will be on duty over the next two weeks after the game against Real Sociedad.
Tomorrow may thus be the best time to bring Ansu Fati into the dynamics to provide Yamal rest in the process.
Further, the manager can also consider deploying an extra midfielder to provide Raphinha rest as well with the likes of Fermin Lopez and Dani Olmo both capable of playing that role.
Lewandowski, meanwhile, will start in all probability and it will be in the team’s best interest to get him off the field early in the second half if the result is in the bag.
Will Pau Cubarsi participate?
Pau Cubarsi’s unfortunate injury was the one black spot on Barcelona’s win over Crvena Zvezda midweek.
The young defender put in a gargantuan shift against the Polish side despite being under serious pressure from the daunting atmosphere. A rash challenge past the hour mark, however, saw him suffer a scathing cut to his face with profuse bleeding.
Cubarsi was immediately taken off the field and the wound on his face had to be sutured with nine stitches. The player is desperate to participate against Real Sociedad at the weekend but it is a question that only Hansi Flick can answer.
The young defender has been left out of Spain’s dynamics for the international break owing to his wound and it would be in the Catalans’ best interest to give him the time he requires to completely recover.
Concurrently, however, there is a school of thought that his partnership with Inigo Martinez is invaluable and that he can play with a protective mask.
A final decision over Cubarsi’s participation will only be made ahead of kickoff after consultation with the medical staff and how the player feels. Should he not start, however, Flick may opt to shift Jules Kounde to central defence with Hector Fort on the right.
Another option, however, is to hand young Sergi Dominguez a start in what will be a more risky approach.
The perfect window
The October-November window was largely seen as Barcelona’s most critical phase of play in the season so far, especially given the high-profile opponents they had in line.
With six games scheduled in 21 days, the question of managing all games with a limited squad size and the eternal problem of fatigue once again lurked.
Hansi Flick and his men, however, have exceeded all expectations so far. With five of the six games past us, they have won all matches, scoring 21 goals and conceding just five in the process.
Tomorrow’s game provides them with a unique chance to complete the ‘perfect’ window with six wins in six games. After all, Hansi Flick spoke recently about it being a target for the team to achieve the feat.
Having taken apart Bayern Munich and Real Madrid along the way, Real Sociedad are a relatively simpler opposition for the Blaugrana to tackle. Moreover, they have a great record at Reale Arena with their last defeat coming in 2016.
