Barcelona may sit in an Europa League spot at the moment, but Culers should be thankful that the club isn’t currently in the relegation fight. Their opponent, Real Valladolid, aren’t so lucky.
Real Valladolid is one of four clubs on 14 points, and unfortunately sit in 18th place as the lowest of the four due to tiebreakers. However, it should be noted that just five points separate 11th place Getafe (16 points) and 20th place Osasuna (11 points). The relegation fight in La Liga will be a battle for sure, and every result counts.
For Barcelona, they now sit eight points adrift of the two biggest teams in Madrid, who lead the Spanish league with 29 points. In a statistic that shouldn’t surprise anyone, both Barcelona and Real Madrid have scored 25 goals and conceded 14; both are separated by eight points in the table.
Against Valencia, Ronald Koeman opted to start Braithwaite, Messi, Coutinho, and Griezmann together, plus Pedri in front of Busquets. If you are wondering where all the wingers are; you aren’t alone. Unfortunately, Ousmane Dembélé isn’t fit for the contest.
Real Valladolid will be compact and put bodies behind the ball, there are no secrets there. The match will be crying out for runs in behind and Jordi Alba and Sergiño Dest should have both busy and fruitful days if Barcelona are to get the three points.
Since Dembélé won’t back, there must be additional runs behind the backline aside from those made by the full-backs. Griezmann will likely be tasked with making those runs as Braithwaite keeps the centre-backs occupied. Pedri and de Jong should be instructed to get forward with diagonal runs whenever possible.
Every recent match-up between the two teams has resulted in a reacquaintance for the Blaugrana to former first team back-up goalkeeper Jordi Masip, who has raised his level since becoming a La Liga starter. There are some other familiar names from around the top division including Roque Mesa and Fabián Orellana, but Valladolid have a ton of former Segunda Division players in their ranks being asked to carry a heavy load. Up top will likely be Sergi Guardiola, the striker most famous for not getting a Barcelona B deal due to old tweets disparaging FC Barcelona.
Journeyman Marcos André, who is still just 24, leads the side with three goals while former Real Madrid academy player Óscar Plano has contributed a team-high four assists. Looking up and down the Valladolid roster is a good way to see that the team is better as a sum of their parts, and they’ll defend their home ground as such. Manager Sergio is still on the hot seat in his third full season, and a result against FC Barcelona is a good way to gain some institutional confidence.
Barcelona (4-2-3-1): ter Stegen; Alba, Lenglet, Araújo, Dest; de Jong, Busquets; Pedri, Griezmann, Messi; Braithwaite
Real Valladolid (4-4-2): Masip; Carnero, El Yamiq, González, Hervías; Orellana, Mesa, Alcaraz, Plano; Guardiola, André
Dan Hilton is an American journalist, broadcaster, and current Editor-in-Chief of BarcaBlog. Extensive work as a play-by-play broadcaster, producer behind the scenes, and quite average player in his younger years has given him a well-rounded and informative perspective on the sport. Alongside BarcaBlog founder Francesc, Dan started The Barcelona Podcast in 2017
