What’s the Story?
Andres Iniesta, Sergio Busquets and Rafinha are all set to miss out tonight’s late contest with Real Sociedad as per reports in Madrid daily Marca. This leaves Luis Enrique in a conundrum as to how best he can deploy an effective midfield against the dangerous Busque outfit.
In case you didn’t know...
Barcelona take a 1-0 lead into this two-legged Copa del Rey quarterfinal, but they ought not mistake that slender lead as confirmation that they have advanced to the semifinals. The Basques led by the charismatic Eusebio Sacristan have been in brilliant form this season – they are 5th in La Liga, level on points with Atletico Madrid! – and the match at the Anoeta was a supremely tightly contested affair with Neymar being the difference maker on the night.
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The heart of the matter
Sergio Busquets hasn’t been in the best of form, but his absence is always a big miss for Barcelona – as no onein the Blaugrana squad plays that anchor down deep midfield role quite like the underrated Catalan.
Also, Read – Sergio Busquets might be out for a month with an ankle injury
Andres Iniesta’s influence, of course, can never be overstated. His passing genius and innate ability to completely change the momentum of the game has so often make the difference for Barcelona’s star-studded side.
Rafinha Alacantra, meanwhile, is not as big a name as the other two, but is an essential balancing factor for the midfield – especially when one of the above two are missing in action.
Despite having the utter geniuses of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar Jr. at their disposal, the lack of a fully functional midfield may well hurt them against the counter-attack punching style of La Real
What next?
With hated rivals Real Madrid having been knocked out yesterday after only managing a 2-2 draw against a fighting Celta Vigo side and thus bowing out 3-2 on aggregate. While Zinedine Zidane didn’t blame it on the number of injuries that have ravaged his squad, it did play a major part in ending Real Madrid’s chances of a treble. The fear is that the same issue may afflict Barcelona in their crunch match today.
Sportskeeda’s Take
While being deprived of the midfield trio will be a huge blow for Luis Enrique, we expect the belegaured Ivan Rakitic to step up to the plate and take ownership of midfield – like he did so often last season. With Arda Turan able to drop into the midfield three, and Andre Gomes and Sergi Roberto available as cover, Barcelona surely should have the firepower to see out Real Sociedad
