For FC Barcelona and Tottenham Hotspur, tonight's match at the Wembley will be crucial for qualifying from one of the toughest Groups in this season's Champions League Group Stage.
Barcelona Football Club would be hoping that in Stadium whgere two of the most famous European Triumphs of FC Barcelona took place, is able to bring in a revival of fortunes for the side. And they need a serious change in fortunes after picking up just two points from their last three matches in the League. From going with 100% percent record, they are suddenly three matches without a win. That extending to a fourth match is unthinkable at the point.
Barcelona have won the first match of the group against PSV by 4-0. That scoreline may be a bit hard on PSV, but it also shows how tough this group could be. Tottenham meanwhile had a different result. They were beaten by Inter Milan away from home with the help of two late goals. Barcelona and Tottenham were the two favourites the qualify from the Group when the draw was made.
The unexpected defeat of Tottenham has thrown out the Group equation for a toss. Now they are in a must win match when they host Barca at the Wembley. That makes Barca's life a lot harder. For Barca, a draw won't be a disaster; but the same cannot be said about Valverde. The coach need nothing but a victory at Wembley otherwise the pressure on him will Just pile up.
F.C. Barcelona Barcelona Text Cuff Knitted Hat,Navy,One Size
Buy F.C. Barcelona Barcelona Text Cuff Knitted Hat, Navy, One Size: Everything Else - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases
Expect Valverde to Role Out the same 4-3-3
I hoped that Valverde will see through the folly of using a 4-3-3 constantly with our set of players. But he hasn't doen that. Now for such a high profile match, he ain't gonna do anything different. The squad list was announced two days back and it had notable ommission of Malcom. No idea why we bought him, especially with Dembele guaranteed to miss the game.
So expect a simple 4-3-3 line-up with Ter Stegan, Alba, Lenglet, Pique, Roberto, Busquets, rakitic, Coutinho, Messi, Saurez and Munir. May be someone else may come in place for Munir; but don't expect any change. This lineup will not be able to dominate the midfield and barring a master class performances from Messi, we may be in quite some trouble.
If I had to chose the line-up, I would have gone with a 4-5-1 with Messi occupying the tip of diamond. I would have Busquets and Vidal as double pivot, Rakiti and Coutinho wide to them. The reason why I believe is that we may need to have total control of midfield to win tonight.
Tottenham's aerial threat will be a handful to deal with and it is necessary to prevent cross playing opportunities. A five men midfield will simply crowd them out and will give us total control for build up play. Also addition of Vidal will give us some serial cover and threat.
Predictions? If we go with a 4-5-1 like I described above, we have a great chance to win this one. May be a towering performances also. But if it's the usual 4-3-3, we should consider ourselve lucky to get out with a point.
All About FC Barcelona
AllAboutFCBarcelona.com is a Blog dedicated to the Most prestigous Club in the world, FC Barcelona by an ardent fan. Here I discuss about the Latest happening surrounding our Club and present my Views about the same.
Liked the Post? Spread the Word>>>
