Barcelona manager Josep Guardiola has earlier today announced the list of 18 players for the fifth game of the Spanish league against Espanyol Barcelona tomorrow evening at 10 pm.
The list:
Valdés, Pinto,
Alves, Márquez, Piqué, Puyol, Abidal,
Xavi, Touré, Busquets, Keita, Iniesta, Gudjohnsen,
Messi, Eto'o, Bojan, Henry, Pedro
Wing attacker Pedro returns to the list. He replaces centre back defender Martín Cáceres in the only change compared to the Betis list.
Sergio Busquets, who is still indicated as being a Barcelona Atlètic player, stays with the first team. Sylvinho and Víctor Sánchez, who has been playing the last two games with Barcelona Atlètic, are for the third time in a row not included. Jorquera, Hleb and Milito are not available because of injuries.
Posts
13 comments:
-----------------Valdes------------
------------Puyol------Marquez-----
--Alves---------------------Abidal
----------------Sergio B.----------
-----------Xavi--------------------
---------------------Iniesta-------
-----Messi-------------------------
----------------------Henry--------
--------------Eto'o----------------
or:
-----------------Valdes------------
------------Puyol-------Marquez----
--Alves----------------------Abidal
-------------Xavi-----Busquets-----
----------------Iniesta------------
-------Messi-------------Henry-----
----------------Eto'o--------------
so it seems guardiola dont trust sylvinho much,he prefers abidal and even puyol instead of him.
i think it has to do with the formation and dani alves,as long as dani is fit and on the pitch i dont think sylvinho will play.
henry should get 30+minutes in this game,also i expect pedro to be used as a sub instead of bojan this time
and ofcourse sergi buscets to be in first 11,toure was given his chance and he didnt do that well,he will get another but the team works better with sergi(with toure we are too slow,sergi passes faster and is very good in defence),i think in the last match where guardiola put him in it showed that he trusts the young lad alot and he thought that he could change the game,
i think sergi will playing almost always from now on with keita/guddy and xavi as the 3 in the middle.i dont think iniesta will be used in the middle again excpet if we are in need.
i also think that caceres wont be used again as a cb,he has to learn alot to play there,but since he has that kind of speed he can be left back(but a sylvinho type player so as long dani alves plays right no place for him in either),caceres disapointed in the last match(together with abidal/marquez/yaya/keita)but i think pepe will trust him again but not in cb,we will see
sorry for the wall of text,barca for the win,we must win this one,revenge on espanyol.my score 1-3(come on we all know we will concede at least one hehe)
I like the formation and players Pep used against Gijon except let Puyol play at the left back and Pique in the centre.
----------Valdes-----------
-----Marquez---Pique-------
-Alves---------------Puyol-
----------Busquets---------
--Xavi--------------Keita--
--Messi------------Iniesta-
-----------Eto'o-----------
I think Pique-Puyol will be the centre-back duo because they feel the derby atmosphere better.
Before talking about selections, and to prepare ourselves to another pepe surprise a question comes in mind:
Will Guardiolla use this game for rotation? Knowing that there is a CL game afterward against Shakhtar!
For the first glance it may sound unlikely, but hey!it happened before didn’t it?
I believe the team need to make but the question is: will it be the game against Espanyol? Or the game against skakhtar where the rotation process fit more?
In my opinion , Shakhtar game is the game to rotate, and I strongly hope Guardiolla feel the same, and I believe so, for the following reasons:
While deciding that, Usually two things must be taken in consideration:
1. Scale of priorities and teams Values
2. Time schedule
1) Scale of priorities: The team have a very friendly group in the CL, already gathered 3 points, the game against shakhtar (11th in the league) may be difficult if they parked their bus in the box, but is attainable. A draw in Ukraine will be good! So that’s not a game to be panicked about.
Espanyol game is not as easy as some may predict, it’s a derby, so it may turn to be a tricky one, of course Barcelona have the quality to hit another 6 goals and smash their rivals, but with a team that master counter attacks, nothing must be taken for granted. In the other hand, a win will boost moral like hell in the dressing rooms and for the fans. That’s needed to create the perfect environment for the team to go hunting titles, a loss will be disastrous, doubts will start to raise, and everyone will be under a huge pressure, not a smart risk to take.
2) Time schedule: well if you take the slice of five games in two weeks, means that Espanyol game is in the middle, so the most appropriate to rotate, but if u take the slice of Espanyol – shakhtar- A. Madrid, then the CL game is the game to rest players. It depend on how fit the players are for now, that’s something only pepe can figure out through the fitness tests.
The main factor in time schedule is that rotating in Shakhtar game will be a better option for A. Madrid game also, a game we all know will not be a walk in the park.
what do you think?:)
I think every game is a rotation game for Guardiola. I don't think he will one day change half of the team and put Sylvinho and Pinto on the pitch. He's just changing a few players every game.
But I agree the Shaktar game is the least important of the three. Also because the Liga is just most important thing for us this season. CL is too unpredictable to put all your money on that one.
Besides, after Shakthar we have two games against Basel coming up (which should be six points) plus the home game against Shakthar. So even if we don't win against Shakthar, we are safe. Although first place is a must!
i think that the espanyol and later atletico matches are more difficult that the cl against shaktar,i think we wont have a problem in this group in the cl.if guardiola needs to rest some players it should be in that match.some players can play all the games ,example puyol was rested with betis cause pepe wants him for all the other matches to play,dani alves needs seriusly a day off,in the end i agree with ramzi the cl match is where we should rest players.
also we must be very carefull with espanyol and atletico,very dangerous teams,both doing very well till now in la liga.also our priority this year should be la liga
I may have a crushed day tomorrow, so i will post my review for the derby today, looking to read yours;)
The Derby! What would be better to boost adrenaline! And both stress with excitement, the best mixed of feelings in the game!
Beside of all those passionate feelings I come to this game with three concerns!
THE FIRST > is the nightmare of rotation, it is unlikely happening specially when we know that Barcelona is coached by a Catalan! But keeping the CL game in mind, you never know if pepe will open that box of surprises, but I guess we already discussed this in Pedro replaces Caceres in Espanyol list post before.
THE SECOND> sticking to the defense structure we have seen in Betis game, meaning to use two classical full backs on left and right, rather than bouncing back to the 3 central backwards structure.
THE THIRD> Using henry on the left instead of iniesta: something I believe it MUST happen during the season, but NO not in this game, this game need iniesta! The reason why I prefer the iniesta - ito/henry- messi, over henry-eto-messi, is the fact that u need iniesta to drop back to midfield when the team loose ball, I want keita to play behind xavi in this game more than assisting the left wing as he is doing recently, we cant ignore the fact that espanyol have the tools needed for counter attack, more than most of the teams in Spain, there 2 forward wingers drop to midfield creating a 5 men in the middle structure, that will be too much for one DM to handle the threat, and too much for 3 Barcelona midfielders to dominate possession, which is a key factor in Barcelona game.
Thats why in this game I prefer iniesta the winger who drop to midfield when loosing ball to create with xavi- keita- busq and advanced alves a croudy midfield to earn the ball faster.
One side note, Gudi need to wait till CL game till he earn his bonus for that goal.
My favorite selection – taking on account that everyone is perfectly fit and inform is”
Valdes, Alves, Payol, Pique, Abidal,Defensive midfielder, Kieta, Xavi, Messi , Henry, Iniesta
Defensive midfielder: The one inform is busquits no doubt! He is the favorite, but if he still feel surprised when the coach tell him he will start, then the coach need to make sure he is mentally ready for an away derby, if he is, then of course he is the guy inform, or else the experienced Yaya is the secured option.
Henry: eto strike twice in the last game, that give him the ticket to start the game, but, isn't he too tired to play? This game is physically demanding!
Tactically, I will stick to THE SYSTEM that I guess I made you sick of it for repeating it again and again, but in football you have “THE SYSTEM” and “THE SYSTEM’ (prime) “ which is derived from the main system with some modifications, like isotopes in chemistry. You make a tactical touch to your tactics to customize it based on the team you are facing and where (home/away)
So The only touch I hope to see, is simply that kieta play behind Xavi rather than his role as an iniesta assistant on the left, why?
The team goal status is scored 13 goals, with 6 goals against, in 5 games. A very good record for offense, almost miserable for defense – taking in consideration the teams Barcelona played against ! Ok I also like the idea of lets score more to win, but believe me in football, to win titles, its much better to win 1-0, that 6-4, call me boring, I will take it, but I just cant deny this fact.
So what needed is to improve the defense stability even if it was through taking “a little” from the offense account, So what we can do is to use keita between the DM and xavi so he can help breaking down the counter attacks in the middle. I believe this option is more than needed for the CL games in the advanced stages, when you go to play in old trafford, or emirates… you need to close your field and drag the game to your field to finish it, and this is the best timing to make the players comfortable with it.
Why this game suit that change? First it’s a derby against a team who master Counter attacks, playing outside your field with a bad defense record on your shoulders in the last few games.
Beside, espanyol will play their offense in that space between Barcelona defense and the midfield, they have the players with the mobility needed for that, and having only one DM to work with this, even if one of the 3 CB moved forward to act as a second DM, may not be enough. I prefer to drop Kieta back and leave the offense work for Xavi, alves, messi, henry/eto and iniesta so they move forward with no fears, rather than playing only one DM and causing lot of concerns so Xavi, alves, iniesta, and kieta move forward while looking to the back.
Now of course during the game, the match conditions may dictate some changes in the roles of players, but I would love to start the game that way, defense with depth, solid midfield, and a killing forward system.
Good luck!
guardiola needs to settle down with all this rotation.. ... the season just started... these are professional atheltes if they are tired then something is wrong with them.. the most importANT thing in football is rhytm- momentum.. you can have all the superstars in the world but if the team is not used to playing together... they will never acheive their best.. barcelona's performance for the last two years and the galacticos have proved this principle. We need one team of 14 players that plays at least 80% of our games. They can take 20% of the games off.. that is more than enough rest for a professional athlete making millions of euros a year. But every game pep changes the defense ....every game he shuffles the formation... we need comsistency.. ESPECIALLY in defence where we have been AVERAGE at best. One day its pique ( who has looked to be our best defender) then marquez then puyol ( i know he's been knocked up) than caceres then abidal is missing ( who looks terrible)... we need then we play with 3 at the back...WHAT IS GOING ON... he needs to pick a back 4 or a back 3 and play them for ten games straight barring injury or suspension.. so they can get some chemistry...
On a lighter note....XAVI + INIESTA......oooooh pure magic baby... CESC WHO!!!!!??!?! arsenal can keep him.. xavi is 28 and iniesta is still 24 .. .. 5 more years of domination from this pair then iniesta will shine alone.
Busquets..... well this is a surprise... toure and keita cant get a game because of this guy.. he is strong and gives the midfield that nasty streak that they have lacked for a while..
Eto.. and pep .....hugging.? ......WOW!!
And by the way pep, i suggest , if possible, that when you start a game discussion that you keep that post title on the top of the posts, so it doesnt vanish fast between all the new posts u put.
I noticed, people get confused between the post u open for discussions before game, and the post u open after game (where less people notice), well i thought I suggest that.
Good suggestion, Ramzi. And I'll also copy your post to the "match discussion" topic tomorrow.
So even when not really around, you will be amongst us... ;)
Thanx pep
I hope to be around tomorrow so we all keep this place active till the game, we will see about that:)
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