The dust has barely settled on the 3-0 victory over Osasuna, and it’s already time to start talking and thinking about Girona. It’s a very quick turnaround for Hansi Flick’s men, as the Catalan derby will soon be upon us.
On the plus side, at least Barca’s two matches, earlier tonight and then again on Sunday, are at home.
FC Barcelona vs Girona FYIs
The Catalan Derby
Kick: Sun. March 27, 8pm, Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys, Barcelona, Catalonia
Barca Preview Material: Full Injury List Team News Starting XI Prediction
La Liga Standing: Girona 13th, 34 pts, Barca 1st, 63 pts
La Liga Form: Girona LLDDD Barcelona WWWWW
Result Probability: Girona 10% Draw 14% Barca 76%
Additional travel would just be another issue to deal with, for a club that is now in the midst of a seven matches in 20 day stretch! Yikes! Just even writing that makes me tired, I can’t imagine actually playing that grueling grind.
Barca boss Hansi Flick discussed the topic of trying to keep legs and manage the minutes through this tough period of fixture congestion.
“I have a meeting with my staff, also the physiotherapists, the fitness coaches, and we spoke about what we can do to recover better and faster,” Flick told the press yesterday, ahead of the win over Osasuna.
“They said to me, ‘Hey, coach, the players are good, they are fit.’ They think to play every three days is not a big thing for them, so I believe in them and we will see what happens.”
So with all that said, let’s look at some potential squad rotation here.
FC Barcelona Starting Lineup Prediction v Girona
Wojcieh Szczesny; Jules Kounde, Eric Garcia, Inigo Martinez, Alejandro Balde; Fermin Lopez, Pau Victor; Lamine Yamal, Dani Olmo, Gavi; Robert Lewandowski
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.