Barça faces the last challenge of the year in what is a very important match. Opposite, Almería, the team that closes the qualifying table and also arrives with needs. But in the current context, that is the least important thing since Barça needs play and results in a non-negotiable way. Here are my 5 tactical keys for this Barça-Almería.
After Xavi reversed the midfield positions in Valencia this Wednesday he will have to formulate a new distribution. And the fact is that De Jong’s suspension due to suspension and Pedri’s absence due to injury prevent repeating a framework that worked remarkably well. So the first of the questions for this afternoon will be who will occupy the role of six and eight. The first possibility is that Gündogan will once again be the pivot and that this will lead to the entry of Fermín and Sergi Roberto as interior players. The second, that Oriol Romeu enters directly into the pivot with Gündogan and one of the two mentioned ahead. That would allow the German to remain in the top half. And the third, less possible, is that Sergi Roberto or Marc Casadó himself will act as the pivot. Interesting to see the choice that Xavi makes in this part of the field.
Beyond the eleven, Barça has to have a highly aggressive first stretch of the game with the ball. Almería will come out with precautions and giving the initiative, so the Barça team has to print a very high circulation rate. One of those days when it is more important to play with few contacts than to be precise and ball speed will be essential to put together a good start to the game. The current situation of the team needs to get the match back on track to seek the following objectives that this match has: good play and winning by more than two goals difference. Only with a high speed of play will Barça be able to generate in the first section. And if they fail to open the scoring, the wear and tear that the opponent will have received as a result will be another factor that will help the team as time goes by.
The entry of Ferran Torres in Valencia improved the team in the final third. With his presence, Barça had much more mobility (and more solutions) than they had with Joao Félix on the pitch. A dynamism that will be very necessary today. Garitano’s team becomes out of balance when it is forced to respond defensively to several entry movements in the same direction. We will see what Xavi decides to do but the Valencian’s movements can also be very productive today. Whether from the start or with the game underway, the attacking front has to be as hectic as the Valencia day.
The problems in being forceful towards the opposing goal are evident in the current Barça. A theme that has become even more palpable in recent games. With only 11.2% success rate, the Blaugranas are the team with the lowest completion rate of the teams at the top and that is a limitation that has to evaporate. The visit of Almería (the most scored in the League) is a favorable opportunity to see the goal and be very ambitious when it comes to scoring goals if the match gives the option of a more comfortable result.
The midfielder, formerly of Madrid, is one of the regulars for any of the coaches who have been on the bench (with 1117 minutes he is the fourth most used field player). If Almería does not change its system today (which may be), he will be the midfielder of the 4-2-3-1 or the 5-4-1 used by Gaizka Garitano. His best quality is his arrival in the area. With five goals and two shots on average per game, he is Almería’s top scorer and the piece that will most threaten the finishing area. On the other hand, it is necessary to talk about Largie Ramazzani. The young forward has had a discontinuous presence in the team but he is the most dangerous player. Especially in a context like the one that will occur today with many spaces. Two goals and four goal assists so far this season. A record that is not small considering Almería’s numbers and that he has only played 933 minutes of the 1440 possible.
