On Saturday, 12th of March 2016, FC Barcelona will return to Camp Nou to measure forces with a relegation threatened Getafe CF for Round 29 of the Spanish Liga BBVA.
“We are where we wanted to be thanks to the work we have done, no one gave us anything, and we will now enter the decisive part of the season” – This was how Luis Enrique described FC Barcelona’s current moment after the Catalan team impressive 4-0 win at Ipurua against SD Eibar last weekend.
Without Neymar, who was suspended, the Asturian manager fielded the young talented Spanish footballer Munir El Haddadi and the canterano didn’t fall short of expectations. Munir opened the score very early in the match after a quality assist by Luis Suárez, who put up another excellent performance out there.
Barça have once again controlled every aspect of the game at Ipurua last weekend and the team confirmed the reason why pundits claim they are on their best moment of form ever. Lionel Messi netted another two goals for FC Barcelona last Sunday, thus increasing his personal tally to 21 goals so far this season.
FC Barcelona’s upcoming opponents are, as opposed to the Catalan team, going through an extremely complicated streak of results as Getafe CF have only managed to claw a point from their last 24 possible. After a heavy defeat at the Canary Islands against UD Las Palmas, Getafe CF secured a dramatic 1-1 draw with Sevilla FC at Coliseum Alfonso Pérez last time out.
For Saturday’s visit to Camp Nou, the Madrid outskirts team’s manager, Fran Escribá, will not be able to rely on the services of Juan Cala and Pablo Sarabia, who are currently suspended. Luis Enrique, on the other hand, will only not be able to count on the contribution from Javier Mascherano, who will miss the match due to suspension.
Last term, FC Barcelona clawed a fantastic 6-0 win over Getafe CF, when the Azulones visited Camp Nou and they remain firm favourites for next weekend’s match once again. That being said, this might probably be Barça’s strongest line-up for upcoming fixture against Getafe CF.
Goalkeeper
With UEFA Champions League’s second-leg match against Arsenal just around the corner, Luis Enrique might produce some changes in the team for the upcoming fixture with Getafe CF, but not in the net, where Claudio Bravo will surely maintain his place.
Defence
Javier Mascherano absence will force Luis Enrique to produce some changes in the team’s defence line. Aleix Vidal and Jordi Alba will probably play as right and left backs respectively, while Marc Bartra will probably play alongside Piqué in the centre of the defence.
Midfield
Iniesta, Sergio Busquets and Sergi Roberto will probably form the Catalan team midfield triangle. Busquets will play his usual defensive midfielder role, while Iniesta will assume the deep-lying playmaker role. The versatile Sergi Roberto will act as some sort of box-to-box midfielder due to his usual impressive work rates.
Forward
Up front, Neymar will probably return to the starting XI, where he will play alongside his usual companions, Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez. Despite of his solid performance at Ipurua, Munir will probably start the match in the bench.
(4-3-3)
