Immersed in a good moment of play and results, Barça, outstanding leader of the Santander League, has the opportunity to get eleven points away from its main rivals, Real Madrid, if they beat Villarreal tonight at the stadium in The ceramic. A special match because it will also mean Quique Setién's first match against his former team. Here my 5 tactical keys for this great game:
The first of the keys goes through the tactical option and the proper names that Xavi chooses. Considering the results (five victories after the World Cup with four midfielders), it is most likely that the Barça coach will repeat the pattern yet and not have Busquets. Especially considering that this is what he has done against teams that, like Villarreal, can discuss possession (Madrid, Real Sociedad or Betis, for example). In such a case, Barça has two main options: that Kessié be the fourth midfielder or that the option be Sergi Roberto. This second option would allow Pedri to go from playing at the bottom of the square to the top. Another possibility (less probable considering the difficulty of the game) is that the Barça team will come out with a 4-3-3 of pure wingers, which would bring on Ansu Fati on the left or even Ferran Torres.
Like all Quique Setién's teams, Villarreal seeks to start the game from behind. They use the third man sequence a lot with a midfielder or the nine coming to stop face. But they are not reliable and it is a very conducive sequence to steal. So it will be a good practice to invite Villarreal to come out in this way to be able to recover high and find the path of the goal from there.
Unless Setién changes tonight, the pairing Pau Torres-Albiol or Jorge Cuenca-Albiol are the duos for the central axis of the 'groguet' box. In this sense, Barça will do well to insist on the siege of the sector of a Raúl Albiol who, being excellent in positioning and defending the area, has many problems when his back is moved or attacked. A key point to exploit in the Barça game.
Villarreal carry the ball very well to the sides, where they have very good one-on-one players. Samu Chukwueze and Yeremi Pino have been the most headlined with Setién but Morales has also done damage on the wings. Winning these face to face will allow several important side effects in a chain: winning the match territorially, playing more in the rival field and deactivating the rival's greatest collective strength. The role of the wingers and the help they receive will be crucial today.
Barça will have to control Dani Parejo. The experienced midfielder plays at a slow pace but has a privileged view of football. And he is absolutely essential for Villarreal. Proof of this is that he is, by far, the footballer who passes the most passes from the 'groguet' team with a very high average of 62.8 passes per game. Also, he is the top assistant with a total of three. If Barça overtakes him, he will deactivate a large part of the rival danger because he is the true channeler of the game. He cannot be left with time and space. At the point of attack, special mention for Álex Baena who, after his loan, has joined immediately. One of the revelation players of this League. He is a very dynamic attacking midfielder with a magnificent short dribble. He has already accumulated four goals plus one assist and is Villarreal's second goalscorer. Barça will have to be very fine to minimize them.
Check the Santander League table.
Consult all the results of Barça in the Santander League.
