This Saturday’s fixture between Barcelona and Valencia had originally been billed as the latest tactical battle between managers Ernesto Valverde and Marcelino García Toral following their duel in May’s Copa del Rey final in which Valencia emerged the victors.
Just three days before the game though we heard that Marcelino had been relieved of his duties in charge of the Valencian side. He has been replaced in the role by Albert Celades, who will only be able to take a few training sessions with the squad before deciding on his starting lineup and formation for Saturday’s game.
On the one hand, this is clearly a massive set-back in Valencia’s pre-match preparation, but on the other, it presents an opportunity for Valencia’s players to prove themselves to their new manager and allows Celades to catch Ernesto Valverde’s men off guard. As this will be the former Spain under-21s manager’s first game in charge, no one can be sure of how he will approach it tactically.
Nevertheless, in this tactical analysis preview we will attempt to paint a picture of how we can expect Barcelona to approach the game, as well as taking a look at how Celades might look to use the tools at his disposal to try to come away with a result against the champions.
To read the full tactical preview for this match – click here
Artwork by @chapulana
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