La Liga Preview: FC Barcelona vs Zaragoza, Or, Small Leaps Before The Big Ones

By: Ade C. | March 4th, 2011

You’re all pumped up about this match, aren’t you? After the gruelling win over the third-ranked team in La Liga (and one of the few teams able to reduce us to a piddly 50-something % possession), and with the Match That Must Not Be Named Unless You Want Me To Start Biting My Nails Already, You Horrible Person You, coming on Tuesday, a match at the Camp Nou against Zaragoza is exactly what the doctor would have ordered if he weren’t busy treating Pep for his bad back.

Pep made a deal with the Gods of Football to take the next injury destined for a Barça player... now, he wishes he'd known it was Jeffren.

But if we’re going to face this match without our coach, our first-choice keeper and our Captain, we have the consolation that Jeffren has finally been cleared by the Barça medical staff, after only six weeks out with a dislocated shoulder… and that Zaragoza are, if anything, worse off in terms of holes in their squad than us: Braulio, Lafita, Leo Franco and Boutahar are all injured, while Ponzio, Gabi and Contini are suspended.

The Javier Aguirre-led Zaragoza sit in the 15 position in La Liga table right now, after digging themselves out of the relegation spots, and then going back down again to flirt with danger. They don’t have much of a form away from home, but just a couple of days ago they tamed the tough Athletic de Bilbao to come back to a hyper-valuable 2-1 win, so they aren’t exactly harmless, either. One can’t help but imagine, though, that the absences on their squad, coupled with the sinking feeling of having to play against the best team in La Liga right now (a team that’s hungry for points and moral reassurances before they face a series of really tought games) might leave them a touch subdued.

'Against Saturday's opponent, a glass of whisky and then to sleep.' (true quote!)

And what about Barça? Well, we aren’t exactly free from concerns right now. Not only is Pep in hospital being treated for a slipped disc (and in the hands of the same doctor that treated ‘Pipita’ Higuaín, yuck!), but VV is still deep in recovery, Puyol continues to be injured (though he has started doing part of his training with the team, and his disciple Piqué said that, if he had to bet, he’d bet Puyol would make if for Tuesday’s match), and Pinto suffered from a small muscle tear in the Valencia match, though he should be ready for Saturday (you wouldn’t believe how little work the Barça goalies get if you judged from the injuries).

Moreover, we have the card situation. Mascherano, Messi, Busquets and VV are all on four yellow cards each, meaning that the next time they have a card-worthy disagreement with a ref, they’re going to have to sit a match out… and, looking at our schedule, there isn’t really a good time for that. We have Sevilla away next weekend, Getafe at home after that, then Villarreal at El Madrigal, then Almería at home… and then El Clásico (full season schedule here). Can crucial players like Messi -who so far has got yellow cards for a) wishing his mum a happy birthday, b) taking a FK too fast, c) arguing with the ref, and d) arguing with the ref again- or Busquets -whose yellow cards are more of the ‘I’ll tackle you until you can’t feel your feet’ school- schedule their suspensions for easier matches (in theory, at least) like Getafe or Almería? Should they? What are we going to do if we have to face The Yellow Submarine or the bunch of whiny divers from Sevilla without Messi to bail us out with a great goal at the same time that everyone’s calling him selfish and saying he’s not playing well?

So many questions…

Like, how can Busi and Messi have the same amount of yellow cards?

But let’s turn our thoughts back to this Saturday. We had a very tough match on Wednesday. We’ll have a very tough match on Tuesday, during which we’ll have to try and pull together a remuntada. Our Mastermind is just coming out of an injury. Our coach might not be there, high on pain meds, to make up confusing formations on the spur of the moment. Our star player seems… off. What’s a great team to do?

I’ll tell you what I’d do if I were Pep. I’d play Milito. No, shut up, I’m not high on pain meds like Pep, listen to me. Piqué won’t be able to play on Tuesday, and we don’t know if sheer willpower will be enough to see Puyol make it. Busi has been great as a CB when he’s had to, but if we play him there against Arsenal, we’ll have to risk Masche and his card-winning ways as DM. And hey, if Adriano and Keita have both come back from mediocre perfomances to carry off MOTM awards in their reapparances on the starting XI, then maybe Milito can come back and be… passable. Not a menace to our tranquility. Or something.

And then Abidal could get some rest, and be world-saving on Tuesday. Busi could get a rest too, after his great work against Valencia (and thus, he could NOT get a card and be ready against Sevilla, unless Pinto’s taught him how to get carded from the bench). Iniesta could also do with some time to put his feet up. Heck, even Villa can get a rest from being offside.

Pinto
Alves- Piqué – Milito – Adriano
Mascherano
Xavi – Keita
Pedrito – Messi – Afellay

Since everyone (but me) has been complaining over Maxwell and oooh’ing over Adriano, this is the chance to see if we can trust him against a probably Walcott-less Arsenal on Tuesday. And it’s either Afellay, or Bojan (or Jeffren, but we don’t want him to break again so soon) in the rotation for the front three, and I think the answer is clear on that one…

… so, what do you think? Who’d you like to see play tomorrow? Do you think these will be easy three points, or a deceiving tie like Sporting or Hércules?

Some Related Barcelona Posts:

Category: Barcelona, Injuries, La Liga, Preview, Team News

« Atonement: Valencia 0, Barca 1! | Home | LiveBlog! FC Barcelona vs. Zaragoza »

Argentinaaa2

it wasn't quiet good performance by Barca, lack of communication in the penalty area, also they penetrate the defence from the center every time which was a bad idea...they didn't use the flanks to target the goal like they did when scoring the first goal. Bad game for both Xavi and Pedro.
Ade C.

Barça starting XI against Zaragoza: VV (is back!), Alves, Piqué, Milito, Maxwell, Mascherano, Xavi, Keita, Pedro, Messi and Bojan.
(almost got it right, except for VV's unexpected return, and Pep's unshakeable trust in Bojan...)

Yes, Bojan and Milto are both in the starting XI... oh, please, let them have a good day!!!
Kage Glantz

Ade, that was an awesome job of predicting the starting 11. Got the entire midfield, the whole team except for Maxwell (I think this means Adriano will play against Arsenal!) and... err.... Bojan. Afellay might have better....
Argentinaaa2

I don't trust Bojan, he's still below the level of Barcelona's strikers....Jeffren is better than him.
Argentinaaa2

do you guys know a link for the live coverage of our game against Arsenal on Tue? Setanta won't cover it as they will show Roma's game instead. Please let me know how to watch the game on line?
Ade C.

The day of the match, 15 minutes before it starts, we'll open our LiveBlog and we'll be sharing stream links so we can all watch live.
Argentinaaa2

is the LiveBlog on here or on a different website?
Ade C.

Here, it'll be the first post you see on the blog, just like today's was the Zaragoza LiveBlog! :)
Helge

Well, we shouldn't take a comfortable win against Zaragoza for granted. They actually have the 3rd-best defense in away-matches (behind us and Real Madrid) and have drawn at Valencia. It might not be a walk in the park, especially since we will not field our strongest eleven.
I predict a rather untypical 2-0 or 3-1 from a below-average performance.
Ade C.

You are right, Helge. And like Tito said yesterday in the press conference, doing his best Pep impersonation, "I am more afraid of small teams than of the big ones"... particularly small teams with nothing to lose who won't, unlike Málaga, roll over and play dead.
Seth

i thought your lineup above was for the arsenal game, and i was very, very confused.
but i've moved past it.
i agree that iniesta/villa need breaks, especially for possibly 90+ minute performances against Arsenal. here's hoping for a successful week ahead...
Barcathegreatestever

I would leave out Messi also, give Bojan the game, and play Puyol for Pique
Valdes
Alves Milito Puyol Adriano
Masch
Xaxi Keita
Pedro Bojan Afellay
Ade C.

But Puyol is not fit yet, and since Piqué doesn't have to play on Tuesday, doesn't it make sense to play him?
(no comments on the Bojan move. We need *someone* to score. :P)
Barcathegreatestever

I expect him to be declared fit on Saturday. He sure looks good in the pic! So if thats the case he gets the playing time before things really heat up. Also if Pique is going to get another yellow better against Sevilla, Getafe or Villareal. Same goes for Messi. I also think Bojan should get more consistent playing time no matter how bad the POS fickle fans think he's doing. We are too reliant on Messi and Bojan has shown what color he wears before. He scored the goal to put us past Inter when Ibra couldn't do anything and carried us to 99 points. You so called fans make me want to puke. Thats you BCB
Ade C.

He might be declared fit after today's training session, but I'd still be way of putting Puyol on the starting XI... I remember all too well how Dani Alves got re-injured this time last year after a hasty medical green light.

The problem with Bojan is... well, I think we've discussed it enough. I agree that more consistent playing time is what he needs. I don't agree that having a player who seems incapable of scoring on our front three is what Barça needs, particularly not at such a crucial point in the season. But then again, I am fickle and if Bojan suddenly remembers how to shoot on goal and starts scoring, no one would be gladder than I will.

Oh, and please, no insulting anyone here. Thank you, and have a good day!
Barcathegreatestever

Fair enough Ade but I am beginning to dread reading game reviews. Many times I feel insulted and sad for the players after being belittled and criticized from the couch using the slow mo and replay buttons to magnify and help generate an argument meant solely to make the writer look good. And this is just when I am most ecstatic and interested in sharing my love for Barca. Many times the players are playing with injuries, or exhaustion or working on a new concept or strategy or playing against a great opponent individually or someone having the best game of their life trying to impress Barca.
The reviewers can be merciless and ignorant (a bad combination) and usually are at BCB.
So the insulting goes both ways. Humility, benefit of the doubt and respect for the players and their opponents goes a long ways when you can read it between the lines.
James

You are so ridiculous. These people are bloggers. It's their job to be entertaining. One of those ways is by making light of players on both sides. If you can't laugh at your own team (especially one doing as well as this one) you should stick to the official website for updates.
Ade C.

You are right in that we must be respectful to the players who go out there and give their all for our team, because they *are* our team.

We bloggers (and commenters) must walk the fine line between loving the players, making the necessary critiques when they don't perform as well as they should (not even Messi, alas, is perfect!) and also having a laugh at their (and our own) expense without being too mean. Sometimes we'll be too soft, sometimes we'll be too harsh, sometimes some people will disagree with our opinion, and never, ever, ever every single reader will be 100% in agreement with us.

But you are right that 'respect' must be what we have in mind, above all. Thanks for your opinion!
Barcathegreatestever

As a matter a fact from now on I will Refer to Barcelona Football Bloggers as the BCB pukes
BarcaJac

BTW check out the smack talk from Nasri:

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/n...
BarcaJac

I think Bojan will definitely be rotated in the front 3 - after we're 4 goals up. I really don't think Zargoza is much of a threat. Like you said, they're worse of than we are at this point, players-out wise. Yellow cards are the only thing standing in our way...And I can't wait for El Clasico in Abril. 6-0 this time?
Ade C.

VV IS BACK!!!

Our dear Víctor Valdés has been declared fit by Barça's medical staff just now, after training.

Question is, would you play him tomorrow, or would you keep him safe until the match against Arsenal?
Brandon Currie

That's awesomely unexpected. If Puyol and VV are fit, I say play 'em. We need match fitness, and this is a perfect game for both of them to ease back into the swing of things.
Ade C.

Puyol isn't back yet, though. He is training with the team, but he hasn't got medical clearance yet.
SeattleCule

Nice preview! I get the weird feeling that Pep might go with Mascherano-Busi combination in the Arsenal game as well. He might want to try them out one more time against Zaragoza. And I think Messi ought to be rested too, along with Villa and Andres.
Ade C.

We all think Messi should be rested, but unless you volunteer to tie him to the bench and sit on him for the whole 90 minutes, I don't see it happening...
Jose P

i can't wait for puyol to come back. reports say that he is back in training but won't be risked for this upcoming match. but he's expected to make his comeback against Arsenal. hell yes!
Jose P

i still don't understand how they managed to contain my Athletic. son of a bitch!
ROD

apparently there's a crackovia version of zaragoza called en el fondo norte its pretty good
phunky

I think we really might see this line up.
It will be interesting to see Pique and Milito pair up against Zaragoza, where they once shared a pretty decent defensive partnership.
Jesse

and to think that horrible pepe had his yellow card rescinded...(i learnt a new word) Btw did messi and villa really argue, i couldn't catch the game live, but thats what it said on totalbarca...
Ade C.

They had a little moment of 'damn, you should've passed!', 'no, you should have!' but they were just fine later when they were celebrating together...
Aliakbar Khayam

I would play these:
Pinto
Adriano pique milito maxwell
mascherano
keita jeffren
affelay nolito bojan