The Same Old Story?
Usually, when FC Barcelona prepare to meet a side in the Spanish League, soccer fans tend to place the Blaugrana as the favorites to win the game. This is certainly because of their ability to humble great and small sides alike, but then, there is no doubt that expectations don’t always get realized.
Surely, the Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola is aware of this fact; and as a result, making additional efforts is always his number one solution.
So far in La Liga this season, the reigning title holders have scored 8 goals and conceded only one away from home. This is definitely the evidence of their strength in attack, and remembering the amazing show they gave their fans at the Camp Nou last week when they hosted Racing Santander, one might conclude that this weekend’s match at the Estadio Reyno de Navarra between Barcelona and Osasuna will end up commonly, with Barcelona stealing the spotlight.
Well, it is true that all this will depend on the psychology that Osasuna take with them when they meet the Kings of Europe; but if ever the home side decides to forget about the frustrating statistics by which it is faced in the league - and instead decides to concentrate on the 90 minutes of its big game on Saturday – it could at least handle its opponents longer than anyone would ever imagine.
Avoiding a big disgrace
In fact, playing against a confident Barcelona side is one of the hardest tasks in football. Obviously, in such a situation, it is the mentality that plays the major role; but as for the physical part, it is the organization which seems to have the upper hand.
As everyone knows it, Barcelona’s strongest forces lie in the front, as the Catalans are very much admired for rarely conceding a huge amount of goals.
In this case, Osasuna would do well to focus on forming a stronger, and more populated midfield. Certainly, containing Barca’s players in the midfield could be the perfect formula to prevent Guardiola’s men from going forward and getting in control.
Trying to take control of the game right from the very start trough the midfield should therefore be Osasuna’s main target, if ever they are to survive and even make the unpredicted in their own stadium on Saturday.