Barcelona faces Real Sociedad in what, together with Real Madrid-Atlético de Madrid, aims to be the great game of the quarterfinals. The team led by Imanol Alguacil has proven to be on a par with the greatest in Europe, and it will not be easy for Barça to advance to the semifinals.
These are the five concerns of the Catalan coach for Wednesday’s duel:
alexander sorloth
The Norwegian killer is showing that he is in spectacular shape. He has been scoring for five consecutive light days, and who was going to tell Real Sociedad at the beginning of the season that after losing Alex Isak and Umar Sadiq they were going to be third and with the Champions League well on track at this point in the campaign.
The midfield of the Basque team
Few teams in the world can boast of having a better populated midfield than Imanol Alguacil’s team: Zubimendi, Silva, Merino and Brais Méndez. It is very difficult to stop a team that has such quality on that part of the pitch.
Gil Manzano
The last time the referee refereed FC Barcelona, he allowed Osasuna to take the lead on the scoreboard with a goal preceded by a resounding foul, and sent off Robert Lewandowski for a double yellow card. Since then, the Pole has only played one game again, and he still has another to serve his sanction in league competition.
Frenkie de Jong and Ronald Araújo are still touched
Neither of them has been able to enjoy any minute after the final of the Spanish Super Cup. Neither in Ceuta, nor yesterday against Getafe. Xavi Hernández is reserving them, since they finished the competition in Arab territory with physical discomfort. We’ll see if they can be there for the great game on Wednesday.
Imanol Bailiff
The Basque coach has shown that he is already one of the greats of this sport. Season after season he is ensuring that his team, Real Sociedad, is always one of the teams that plays the best football in the entire championship. It won’t be easy for Xavi’s men.
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