Barcelona visits this Wednesday one of the trap stadiums of Spanish football. The team led by Xavi plays at home against Rayo Vallecano with their minds set on achieving three points that will bring them even closer to a league title that he has been aiming for several weeks. That is the first goal of a culé team that does not want to relax despite its advantage over Real Madrid and that has between eyebrows not to lift the accelerator foot to break records and easily achieve the championship.
«There is still nothing won, but if we win this League it will not be the host; it will be the hostage I think that Barcelona fans will value this title a lot if we finally get it,” Xavi said on Tuesday. The Barça coach wanted to value his team’s trajectory throughout the first 30 days and agreed with Carlo Ancelotti regarding the distance from Real Madrid. “He has all the reason. That is not the real distance and that we take them 11 points ahead is a great compliment for us, “he added, to settle the controversy regarding the words of the Italian coach.
Xavi’s “nothing has been won” comes just before a final stretch in which Barcelona’s great enemy may be relaxation. The culés already have the title on track and they are only in this competition, something that can make the intensity of the group decrease. This is something that Xavi wants to avoid at all costs in order to win the title as soon as possible and finish the course with sensations, especially in the offensive section, similar to those the team had a month ago. And it is that Barça has barely scored a goal in the last four games, a bad streak that the Catalans hope to resolve in Vallecas.
In order to win in “a complicated field and smaller than normal”, Xavi will have to overcome the absences of Busquets and Sergi Roberto due to suspension and of Andreas Christensen and Ousmane Dembélé due to injury, two footballers who have already recovered from their physical problems but that they will have to wait for Saturday’s match against Betis at the Camp Nou to return to the pitch. Yes, they will be in Vallecas Pedri and Frenkie de Jong, who already had minutes against Atlético, and who could return to the eleven with Eric García, a possible alternative in the pivotal position to alleviate the absences.
“The Most Intense Team”
It will not be an easy game for Barça. Xavi warns that Rayo is “the most intense team in the category” and he is not without reason. Andoni Iraola’s man has signed an excellent course in which he has reached matchday 30 with his homework practically done and with the need, yes, to take the last step to reach salvation. That is what they want to do this Wednesday with a victory against the leader of the competition that will allow them to reach 43 points, achieve the main objective and begin to look at higher levels.
In case of achieving it, Rayo would get the fourth consecutive game without losing against Barcelona, something never seen in the franjirroja entity. Iraola’s men won 1-0 last season at the Camp Nou and achieved the same result in Vallecas, while this season they already achieved a creditable goalless draw at the culé fief on the first matchday. To make history, Iraola will be able to count on all his players except for Radamel Falcao, with discomfort, and Santi Comesaña, suspended.
Probable lineups:
Rayo Vallecano: Dimitrevski, Baillu, Lejeune, Catena, Fran García, Pathé Ciss, Valentín, Isi, Trejo, Álvaro and Raúl de Tomás.
Barcelona: Ter Stegen, Koundé, Araujo, Marcos Alonso, Jordi Alba, Eric García, De Jong, Pedri, Raphinha, Lewandowski and Gavi.
Referee: Gil Manzano (Extremadura).
Stadium and schedule: Vallecas Stadium. 10:00 p.m. (Dazn).
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