Madrid (Spain): La Liga leader FC Barcelona visit Getafe on Sunday in what could be a difficult afternoon for Xavi Hernandez’s side.
Barca have decided to travel to the Spanish capital by high-speed train, rather than fly, to cut down on emissions, with the club saying its players will use more sustainable forms of transport from now on where feasible.
The weekend starts with Barcelona 13 points clear of Real Madrid at the top of La Liga, although that lead could be down to 10 points depending on Madrid’s result in Cadiz.
Xavi has once again to deal with a long list of injuries, with Ousmane Dembele, Pedri, Frenkie de Jong and Andreas Christensen all still on the sidelines and likely to remain out until the end of the month.
That once again limits Xavi’s options to rotate his side, and Barca have looked flat in recent matches, losing their Copa del Rey semifinal 4-0 to Real Madrid and drawing 0-0 at home to Girona, reports Xinhua.
The Girona game highlighted Barca’s problems, with five B-team players on the bench and only Ferran Torres as an attacking option to freshen things up.
Franck Kessie could start on Sunday ahead of Sergi Roberto in central midfield to try to give Barca some more creativity, and perhaps Jordi Alba could come into the side for impressive youngster Alejandro Balde, but it’s hard to see Xavi making many more changes.
Getafe receive Barcelona after a tame 2-0 defeat away to Real Sociedad, but that game shouldn’t be seen as a reference for a team that has only lost two of their last eight La Liga matches, although they are still only three points above the relegation zone.
Barca will have to be wary of strikers Enes Unal and Borja Mayoral, as well as former Barcelona duo Munir El Haddadi and Denis Suarez on the break, but their main problem will be breaking down a five-man defence likely to sit deep and close down any spaces.
–IANS
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