Has Inaki Pena done enough to start the first El Clasico of the 2024/25 season?

FC Barcelona's 2024/25 campaign has been brilliant so far. Coming on the back of consecutive dominating victories against Bayern Munich and Sevilla, the Blaugrana club finds itself in a comfortable position, both in La Liga and UCL. However, up next, it could be one of the toughest challenges for them, as they face Real Madrid in the first El Clasico of the season.

Has Inaki Pena done enough to start the first El Clasico of the 2024/25 season?

Featuring the likes of superstars Kylian Mbappe, Vini Jr., and Bellingham for Real Madrid and Robert Lewandowski, Raphael, and Pedri for Barcelona, the fixture seems to be one for the ages. So far this season, both clubs have had a spectacular run, having dominated opponents, and both would want to continue their dominance as they face off at Santiago Bernabeu.

From FC Barcelona's perspective, while most of their lineup seems fixed and ready, one of the possible concerns might be whether to start prodigy keeper Inaki Pena for the mighty matchday or not. So far this season, in his 7 appearances for the Blaugrana club, Pena has conceded 6 goals while maintaining 4 clean sheets in the process.

Closely analyzing the keeper's performances, although Pena had a shaky start this season, he did some good displays in the recent games. In fact, against Bayern Munich, although he conceded a goal, the 25-year-old looked confident enough in the backline, never being afraid to come out of his goal on opportunities. Thus, even though, as of now, he hasn't been clearly convincing between the sticks, Pena has definitely delivered enough to gain Flick's trust.

In fact, even Barca's replacement signing, veteran keeper Wojciech Szczesny himself, believes that the club shouldn't make a drastic change ahead of such an important fixture, given that things have been going well. Reflecting on the possibility of whether he would have chosen himself over Pena for the El Clasico matchday, Szczesny said,

""No. Iñaki Peña has not given him a reason to put him on the bench. We talked a lot. I already told the manager that I am 100% fit, but the team is working well. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.""

- Wojciech Szczesny

Overall, as Hansi Flick had mentioned earlier, Pena would be the starting keeper for the mighty El Clasico clash next. While definitely, the 25-year-old keeper hasn't been completely convincing, Pena has demonstrated confidence in his recent displays in the role. Barca fans would hope that the 25-year-old delivers a solid show as the club hopes to stretch its lead at the tabletop.