Barcelona welcome relegation-battlers Cadiz in a bid to strengthen their hold on the second spot in the La Liga table.
Barcelona are ready to welcome Cadiz to Camp Nou in La Liga as they prepare to continue their run of favourable results in the league. The Catalan giants are on a seven-match winning run in the Spanish top flight, which has helped them solidify their second position in the league table.
Their last league encounter saw them secure a last-minute 3-2 win over rivals Levante. However, Barcelona come into the game on the back of a shock 3-2 defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt on Thursday, which saw them getting eliminated from the UEFA Europa League. Xavi Hernandez will be hoping that his players are able to produce a strong reaction and bounce back to winning ways on Monday.
Cadiz, on the other hand, are currently 18th in the La Liga table. They have 28 points in 31 matches and are a point behind 17th-placed Mallorca with a match in hand. A positive result against Barcelona would take them out of the relegation zone. Granada, who are placed 16th, have also played a match more than Cadiz and are on 28 points.
The Pirates can overtake Granada as well if they manage an upset against the Catalan giants this weekend. However, They have been winless in their last two matches, losing to Real Betis and drawing to Valencia. So, trying to turn the tables against Barcelona could be a tricky task.
Team News & Tactics
Barcelona
Xavi: 'It's an intense week and we need to recover well from the defeat the other day' pic.twitter.com/aeas9itp78
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) April 17, 2022
Barcelona will be without Sergi Roberto, Ansu Fati, Samuel Umtiti, Gerard Pique and Ronald Araujo (suspension) for the Cadiz encounter. Pedri has also been ruled out, which comes as a big setback for the La Liga giants.
Xavi is expected to make a few changes to the XI that started the second leg of the Europa League quarter-final against Eintracht Frankfurt. He will continue with the 4-3-3 formation that has given the Catalan giants great success recently. His possession-based football will leave Cadiz with nothing but counters to depend on.
Marc-Andre ter Stegen will continue in goal, with a back-four of Dani Alves, Clement Lenglet, Eric Garcia and Jordi Alba shielding him. Frenkie de Jong, Sergio Busquets and Gavi will form a three-man midfield. In Pedri’s absence, there will be a lot riding on the young Gavi, who has enjoyed a breakthrough campaign at Camp Nou.
Ousmane Dembele, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Ferran Torres are set to start in attack for Barcelona. Dembele has seen a resurgence since Xavi’s appointment as manager of the club and is expected to be their chief creative outlet.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): ter Stegen; Alves, Garcia, Lenglet, Alba; de Jong, Busquets, Gavi; Dembele, Aubameyang, Torres
Cadiz
Florin Andone and Varazdat Haroyan will miss the Barcelona encounter due to their respective injuries. Ruben Alcaraz is suspended for the encounter. Other than that Cadiz do not have any notable absentees ahead of their trip to Catalonia.
Manager Alvaro Cervera will continue with the 4-4-2 formation. Against Barcelona, the two banks of four will do the defensive work and try to keep their lethal attack at bay. Thus the two forwards up-front will be left to do the dirty work with the side majorly relying on counter-attacks.
Jeremías Ledesma will stand between the sticks with Carlos Akapo, Luis Hernandez, Victor Chust and Alfonso Espino forming the four-man defence in front of him. Ivan Alejo, Fede San Emeterio, Jose Mari and Oussama Idrissi will be part of the midfield.
Alejo and Idrissi would be the wide midfielders who will look to act as the main attacking outlets when Cadiz counter. Alvaro Negredo and Lucas Perez will lead the attack.
Probable Lineup (4-4-2): Ledesma; Akapo, Chust, Hernandez, Espino; Alejo, Mari, Fede, Idrissi; Negredo, Perez
Key Stats
- Barcelona have won 19 out of their 27 matches against Cadiz, who have won just two.
- Barcelona have, however, failed to win their last three league matches against Cadiz.
- The Pirates have lost 11 of their last 13 away league matches against Barcelona.
- The Blaugrana are unbeaten in their last 15 La Liga matches.
- Cadiz have conceded in all of their last 13 outings at Camp Nou in La Liga, shipping in 35 goals.
Player to Watch
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
The former Arsenal captain has been a hit since his move to Camp Nou. He has scored eight goals in nine La Liga matches for the Catalan giants. Barcelona had been lacking a proper goalscorer in their midst during the first half of the season, which hurt them on several occasions.
But, Aubameyang’s arrival has addressed that issue for the Blaugrana. Furthermore, his partnership with Ousmane Dembele has also prospered, much to Barcelona’s benefit. The Gabonese striker was on the scoresheet in their last league match against Levante and will want to continue performing in a similar vein.
Prediction
Barcelona 3-0 Cadiz
Barcelona are on a roll in La Liga and will want to bounce back from their recent Europa League disappointment. Expect Xavi’s men to return to form in style and come out with at least a three-goal victory. They will thus strengthen their hold on the second spot with a comfortable win at home.
