Barcelona Begin Their Own March Madness

It is the time of the season or Barcelona to hunker down and start to get into the championship mode.  “All or nothing” time as Pep Guardiola referred to it in Friday’s press conference.  They already know what the rest of their calendar entails and their first step starts with them hosting a Getafe side that always gives the Blaugrana problems, but the problems have been on he end of the Azulones in recent weeks as they are in the midst of a six-match winless streak.  A historic first win at the Nou Camp could see that all erased and have them back in the race for a final Europa League spot. 

This is why the Barcelona training staff placed a great deal of emphasis on this match.  They know that anything less than a win at home would seriously hamper their pretensions for a third consecutive league title. 

“A lot has happened this week.  This is the typical crucial game for the league.  Winning means we maintain our lead.  Losing means it is reduced,” said Guardiola.

Barca will have to deal with the absences of Carles Puyol, who is still not ready to return to action after almost a month of inactivity.  The other regular who will be absent will be Pedro who will be out of this weekend’s lineup due to a hamstring injury.  He has also been dropped from Spain’s callup for their Euro2012 qualifiers against the Czech Republic and Lithuania.

The biggest absence though will be that of French international Éric Abidal who is currently recovering from surgery after doctors found a tumor in his liver on Tuesday.  Initial reports are that he is doing well and should be released from the hospital in the next week. 

Abidal will be out for the remainder of the season and that is by Pep Guardiola promoted Andreu Fontàs from Barca Athletic.  He could be seeing some time in the coming days, maybe even against Geatafe in order to give players like Gerard Piqué a well-deserved rest in the backline.

He knows that there is a stretch of matches that in the coming weeks where his team will have very little margin for error.   In addition to Getafe, Barca will have to deal with Villarreal and the FIFA virus as well as Real Madrid on two occasions within a span of four days; possibly four in three weeks.  They will also have to deal with Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League quarters.

Getafe have a training room that looks more like a medical triage.  Among the injured are Jaime Gavilán (ACL), Mané (muscular), Rafael López (meniscus), Adrián Colunga (left calf strain), Óscar Ustari (jaw fracture) and Mario Álvarez (Achilles’tendon).

Although he is not injured, midfielder Derek Boateng will not be available after having to serve a one-match ban.

They will only have one forward available in Venezuelan international Nicolás Fedor “Mikú”.  Based on the players that Michel called on to make the trip to Catalunya, they will be playing with only one player up top. 

For ex-Real Madrid idol Michel, he knows that a loss would keep the countdown going and his chances of returning next year slim significantl and the possibility of a coach like Luis Enrique, who recently stepped down as Barca B coach would be much greater. 

So Getafe is the beginning of 37 days of absolute mayhem in Spanish football as it will be packed with action until the very end yet again. 

PROBABLES:

BARCELONA-  Valdés, Dani Alves, Busquets, Piqué, Adriano; Xavi, Mascherano, Iniesta; Bojan, Villa, Messi

GETAFE: Ustari, Torres, Díaz, Marcano, Sánchez; Casquero, Parejo, Ríos, Arizmendi, Del Moral, Miku

LAST FIVE

BARCELONA

4-1-0

D

@ Sevilla

1-1

W

  Arsenal

3-1

Champions League

W

Zaragoza

1-0

W

@Valencia

0-1

W

@ Mallorca

0-3

GETAFE

0-3-2

D

Athletic

2-2

L

@ Sporting

2-0

D

Alético

1-1

D

@ Hércules

0-0

L

Racing

0-1