Xavi could recreate his tactics from Getafe win for Athletic Club vs Barcelona
Barcelona, coming off the back of a spectacular 4-0 win against Getafe last weekend, face much bigger woes tomorrow as they take on Athletic Club at the San Mamés.
Ernesto Valverde’s side are coming off a mighty 3-0 win against Atletico Madrid at home in the Copa del Rey semi-finals, reaching the finals after winning 4-0 on aggregate.
They are also competing for a spot in the top-four, currently sitting just three points shy off Atletico Madrid, and will be hoping to put pressure on Diego Simeone’s side with an upset against Barcelona tomorrow.
The Catalans, meanwhile, are on an impressive run of form, too, having won four of their last six games, and losing none. This streak includes a superb performance against Napoli and a last-minute win against Celta Vigo.
Tomorrow, however, Athletic will be on the top of their game, and Xavi is hoping to mirror his team’s performance from the Getafe game, with similar tactics.
As per a report from SPORT, Xavi believes that the Basque outfit will come out all guns blazing, and will try to press high and wide, like Getafe, that will stretch their defence, giving space to run in behind.
The coach wants Barcelona’s players to attack the spaces in behind the Athletic defence, and be more vertical with the ball.
This will also reduce the risk of losing the ball in possession in the centre of the pitch much more. Valverde’s team press very hard, and committing turnovers in possession against them can be very costly.
Therefore, we can expect Xavi to bench Andreas Christensen for this game, and instead go for the trusted midfield trio of Ilkay Gundogan, Frenkie de Jong, and Pedri.
While Gundo has largely played as the holding midfielder in this setup, Xavi could appoint de Jong to do that job tomorrow, given the German’s ability to make perfectly-timed third man runs behind the defence.
