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Barcelona can use January games to build league lead

By Benjamin Barkworth

BARCELONA, SPAIN - DECEMBER 22: Lionel Messi of FC Barcelona celebrates with teammates after scoring his team's second goal during the La Liga match between FC Barcelona and RC Celta de Vigo at Camp Nou on December 22, 2018 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)
BARCELONA, SPAIN - DECEMBER 22: Lionel Messi of FC Barcelona celebrates with teammates after scoring his team's second goal during the La Liga match between FC Barcelona and RC Celta de Vigo at Camp Nou on December 22, 2018 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images) /
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The Catalans have a nice run of fixtures to start the new year and potentially create a gap between them and the chasing pack.

Barcelona hold a three-point lead over Atletico Madrid in the league and received a promising draw when they were picked with Lyon for their Champions League round of 16 clash as well as facing Levante in the Copa del Rey round of 16. Therefore, they are in a good position heading into the second half of the season.

They come into this month on a run of form with an eight-game unbeaten run including four consecutive clean sheets in the league. The 1-1 draw with Tottenham at Camp Nou ensured they finished their tough Champions League group unbeaten.

Fixture List

06/01 – Getafe (A)

10/01 – Levante (A)

13/01 – Eibar (H)

17/01 – Levante (H)

20/01 – Leganes (H)

27/01 – Girona (A)

There could also be Copa del Rey quarter-final matches around the 23rd January and the 30th January if they are able to beat Levante over two legs. Getafe are likely to be their toughest opponents this month due to their stingy defence which has seen them concede only four goals at home in the league as well as 13 in total.

Leganes and Girona both picked up points against Barca earlier in the season so neither of them can be underestimated. However, Barcelona’s recent defensive solidity suggests that this will be a much harder task than it was earlier in the season when there were a number of issues with the 4-3-3 system.

Patience will be key against Getafe and Leganes because they utilise 4-4-2 and 5-3-2 systems that prioritise defensive solidity and minimise risk, especially against the big sides. Levante were blown away in the league with a convincing 5-0 win by the Catalans, so they shouldn’t offer too much resistance over two legs, although that is dependent on how many first team players Ernesto Valverde is willing to use due to it being a Copa del Rey clash.

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Eibar have proved themselves to be an effective high pressing team, but they will struggle to replicate that at Camp Nou due to the significant difference in dimensions between their pitch and Barcelona’s. An inability to properly press Barcelona could easily see the match become a rout as the Catalans are experts at utilising the vast expanse of the pitch to cut through teams.

Girona may have picked up a point earlier in the season at Camp Nou, however, they were lucky as a harsh early red card for Clement Lenglet and a poor performance from Gerard Pique gave them a route into the game, but Barcelona still deserved to win based on the balance of play. Eusebio Sacristan did pose the Blaugrana plenty of problems during his time as Real Sociedad manager and Christian Stuani is in top form, so Barca will have to be wary.

Next. Barcelona set to begin negotiations with Adrien Rabiot and Jean-Clair Todibo. dark

It’s not unfeasible to suggest that Barcelona can go this month without dropping any points due to the quality of the teams they are up against, although it would be wise to expect dropped points at some point or at least a draw in one of the Copa del Rey fixtures. Sevilla play Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid in January, so there is a golden opportunity for Barcelona to take advantage of these fixtures to build up their lead in the league.