Barcelona: Squad depth key for European treble
The Catalans are in a promising situation heading into the last few months of the season, but the depth of the squad will be severely tested.
Barcelona have managed to navigate a tough run of games with ease as they won 4-2 over Sevilla before beating Real Madrid 3-0 and 1-0 in back-to-back Clasicos at the Santiago Bernabeu to reach the Copa del Rey final and maintain a seven-point gap on Atletico Madrid in the league. The 1-0 win extended the gap between them and Los Blancos to 12 points so they are effectively out of the title race with 12 games remaining.
Their Champions League round of 16 tie with Lyon is finely poised due to the no-score draw in the first leg so the second leg needs to be prioritised. Key players need to be rested against Rayo Vallecano in the next league match to keep them fresh for the knockout tie. Assuming they are able to overcome that challenge, their lead in the league means that Ernesto Valverde can rotate and take risks with his selection so they are well-prepared for the Champions League matches.
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Valverde is blessed with a squad that few other sides in world football can match in terms of first team quality as well as depth. Against Real, he was able to call from Arturo Vidal, Philippe Coutinho, Samuel Umtiti, Malcom, Nelson Semedo, Carles Alena and Jasper Cillessen on the bench. He needs to use these players effectively as well as others such as Kevin-Prince Boateng, Juan Miranda and Riqui Puig to successfully compete on multiple fronts.
They also possess players of differing skillsets in the same areas such as Vidal and Arthur Melo as well as Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele, which provides Valverde with a variety of options to choose from. This could be seen against Real when he brought on Vidal for Arthur as they needed someone to break up attacks rather than recycle possession. There is depth in every position so there is no excuse for overusing the first team players.
Valverde needs to have learned from his mistakes last season when a fatigued side was humiliated by Roma. The league is important, however, they have a strong chance of reclaiming the Champions League and Real’s embarrassing exit at the hands of Ajax only adds to that.
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It’s pivotal that individuals such as Vidal and Coutinho step up in the absence of key players against the smaller sides as they can’t afford to drop points in the easier fixtures. The Brazilian has disappointed this season so a solid last few months would be a welcome boost for the team. They will have Lionel Messi on the bench who is effectively a cheat code due to his ability to win games on his own, but he needs to be saved for the big games where possible.