Espanyol and FC Barcelona face each other this Thursday at Cornellà El-Prat for matchday 36 of LaLiga, with the team led by Hasi Flick one win away from reaching their 28th title. Los culés, can even be champions before the Catalan derby if Real Madrid stumbles on Wednesday against Mallorca.
In that sense, the Azulgrana coaching staff can repeat their revolution in the starting XI if circumstances allow it. If they arrive with the title in their pocket, it is likely that the coach will rest most of his starters.
This would give a new opportunity to players like Ansu Fati and Pau Víctor, both starters against Valladolid on matchday 34, as well as Andreas Christensen, who played very well in the second half against Madrid on Sunday.
If the Whites, on the other hand, do their homework against Mallorca and get back to within 4 points, Barça will take to the pitch at the RCDE Stadium with a much more recognizable line-up, especially in attack.
The Culés only need one victory to be champions or even two draws in the remaining three matchdays of LaLiga, thanks to their victory in the Clásico (4-3). However, Flick does not take LaLiga for granted yet.
| Team | MP | PTS | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barcelona | 35 | 82 | 26 | 4 | 5 | 95 | 36 | 59 |
| R.Madrid | 35 | 75 | 23 | 6 | 6 | 72 | 37 | 31 |
| Atlético | 35 | 70 | 20 | 10 | 5 | 60 | 27 | 33 |
🏆Barça hopes to repeat the title win against Espanyol this Thursday
Beyond what happens in the Madrid-Mallorca match, the Culés are going for a victory in Cornellà that will allow them to repeat the title win of 22/23. And it is that Barcelona celebrated their last league title with a thrashing against the 'Pericos' (2-4) on matchday 34 with goals from Robert Lewandowski (double), Alejandro Balde and Jules Koundé.
For Flick's team, this would be the 27th victory in LaLiga and the fifteenth in the second half of the season, where the team remains undefeated with only two draws in 17 appearances.
'Lewy' and Álex could return to the line-up on Thursday, while Koundé will still be out due to injury. In that sense, there are several adjustments that the coaching staff is planning for the visit to Espanyol.
The squad arrives with brutal wear and tear after the Champions League semi-final against Inter and the Clásico against Madrid, in addition to a very worrying defensive performance in both matches.
Barça conceded 7 goals in the last week, which adds to another 4 in the previous week (against Inter and Valladolid). The Catalans only kept a clean sheet in one of their last eight matches, with a total of 19 goals conceded.
Hence, in defense, it is likely that the coach will make most of his changes compared to the last two matches in LaLiga and Champions League.
📌Another revolution in the starting XI? The changes Flick is planning for Espanyol-Barça
- This is how Barça lined up in the derby against Espanyol in the first round (matchday 12): Iñaki Peña; Héctor Fort, Pau Cubarsí, Iñigo Martínez, Alejandro Balde; Casadó, Pedri; Lamine Yamal, Olmo, Raphinha; Lewandowski.
The Azulgrana team won with authority at Montjuïc (3-1) with three goals in the first half hour of the match. A double from Dani Olmo and another from Raphinha ended the hopes of the 'Pericos', who only managed to pull one back in the 63rd minute through Javi Puado.
In the match of matchday 12, just after the first thrashing of the season against Real Madrid (0-4), Héctor Fort was the main novelty in the Azulgrana line-up, in place of the punished Jules Koundé (for being late to a technical talk).
The rest of the team was the gala culé XI in the initial stretch of the season, with Iñaki Peña in goal and Marc Casadó accompanying Pedri in midfield.
The Iñigo-Cubarsí duo had already settled by that time, as well as the 'LRL' in attack. Balde and Olmo completed a team that, at that time, had a 6-point advantage over Madrid in the lead (11 wins and 1 loss).
- This Thursday, Barça could take to the pitch at Cornellà in the following way: Ter Stegen; Héctor Fort, Araujo, Christensen, Balde; De Jong, Pedri; Lamine Yamal, Fermín López, Raphinha; Lewandowski.
In principle, Flick does not rule out completely changing his defense compared to the last two matches (Inter Milan and Real Madrid).
Ter Stegen would return to take the place of Szczesny, while Christensen and Araujo would be the center-backs. Fort and Balde would return to the flanks, with De Jong and Pedri untouchable in midfield.
The departure of Lamine Yamal and Raphinha from the starting XI is not expected either, but Dani Olmo and Ferran Torres are. Fermín López and Robert Lewandowski have many options to be from the start against Espanyol, especially the Pole, absent in the last three matches due to physical problems.
The '9' has lost the lead for the Pichichi, now two goals behind Kylian Mbappé (27). In addition, he has been waiting several weeks to reach his centenary goal with Barça, after scoring his 99th goal in the Champions League against Dortmund (4-0).
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