Barcelona expected to heavily rotate against Cadiz
With the Champions League 3-2 win over Paris Saint-Germain in the rearview window, Barcelona turn their attention back to LaLiga as they go on the road to face Cadiz.
Barcelona currently sit eight points behind Real Madrid and are only two points ahead of Girona for second place. In other words, the Catalan side cannot afford too many slip-ups should they want to finish in second and take part in next year's Spanish Super Cup.
At the same time, however, Xavi Hernandez will also have one eye at the return leg on Tuesday.
Therefore, expect Barcelona to rotate a significant number of players for the match against Cadiz.
The likes of Robert Lewandowski, Joao Cancelo and Iñigo Martínez will be unavailable given they picked up a yellow card in their last match and face a one-match suspension.
Vitor Roque is likely to get his first start for Barcelona with Hector Fort and Marcos Alonso options at left-back.
🚨 Héctor Fort, Marcos Alonso, Oriol Romeu, Fermín López and both Marc Guiu and Vitor Roque could start against Cádiz. Marc Casadó also has options to start. @sport pic.twitter.com/mX91czxf2R
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) April 12, 2024
Despite potentially fielding an alternative side, Barcelona know they can't overlook Cadiz.
"Cadiz have only lost one of their last five games and are fighting to stay up, so they have a lot to play for," Xavi said.
"It's a vital game and, if we don't win, LaLiga is practically over for us. If we really want to push until the end, which will be tough but we won't throw in the towel, we have to win on Saturday."
Another player likely to rest is Ilkay Gundogan. The German midfielder has played every game for Barcelona and with the German National Team. With Sergi Roberto and Andreas Christensen suspended for Tuesday's match versus PSG, both could start though the latter can play either in midfield or defense.
Cadiz may sit in 18th place in the table but that doesn't mean it's going to be a straightforward match for Barcelona. The Catalans have dropped points against a number of teams down in the table. Teams that on paper they shouldn't have.
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While Xavi is going to give a number of players a rest, it is going to be crucial that he strikes the right balance. As he said, it's an important game and one they need to win if they want to head into El Clasico against Real Madrid with a chance of still making headway for the league title.
Expected starting line-up:
Ter Stegen
Fort - Araujo - Christensen - Alonso
Fermin Lopez - Sergi Roberto - Frenkie de Jong
Ferran Torres - Vitor Roque - Joao Felix