Barcelona will look to pick up their first win when they take on Cadiz in La Liga. Last weekend, Getafe held the Catalan team to a scoreless draw in their season opener. Cadiz started off on the right foot by defeating Alaves 1-0 at home.
Preview (Barcelona vs Cadiz)
Last season, Barcelona proved to be unquestionably the best team in Spain’s top division. They won the championship with four games remaining and ultimately finished 10 points ahead of Real Madrid in second place. However, their disappointing goalless draw with Getafe last weekend signaled the start of their title defense. There is no escaping the truth that the club has had a terrible transfer window thus far. Key players like Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba went on free transfers. Ousmane Dembele joined Paris Saint-Germain. As a result, Barcelona currently appears to be lacking in the final third of the field. Oriol Romeu and Ilkay Gundogan, two of their three summer acquisitions, are midfielders.
Everyone associated with the club would feel much better if they won on Sunday. More losses would undoubtedly raise concerns. Xavi might find himself facing some criticism in his managing role if the team struggles to get going this year. Barcelona played well at Camp Nou during the 2022–23 season. They earned 48 points from their 19 league games played in front of their home fans. However, they have only won two of their last six La Liga matchups against Cadiz, both last season. In contrast, Cadiz won their season opener against Alaves on Monday night. Taking all three points thanks to a goal from Fede San Emeterio.
They are competing at this level for the fourth consecutive season, which is their greatest streak since the early 1990s. Sergio Gonzalez’s team finished 14th in La Liga last season, with their fight for survival going down to the final day. Gonzalo Escalante and Sergi Guardiola joined the club permanently after being on loan, and Darwin Machis and Javi Hernandez were also among the players who joined Cadiz during the summer transfer window. The Yellow Submarine only managed to accumulate 15 points from their 19 away league games last season, so it is evident that they will need to improve in this area during the 2023–24 season if they want to avoid a relegation fight.
Team News
Due to a thigh issue, Ronald Araujo will be out of commission for Barcelona for the next month, and Inigo Martinez is still not healthy enough to play after suffering a foot injury. Since Raphinha is sidelined after receiving a red card against Getafe last weekend, Sergi Roberto may start at right-back. Abde Ezzalzouli is also expected to make his debut. Ezzalzouli might play in the final third of the field alongside Gavi and Robert Lewandowski, and Andreas Christensen, who was replaced at halftime in the team’s season opener, is well enough to start. Escalante, a summer recruit who made a cameo appearance for Cadiz, will be out of commission as a result of his ban.
Due to injury issues, the visitors will also be without Brian Ocampo, Guardiola, and Victor Chust. There is a good probability Sergio will choose the same starting lineup for this game, with Roger and Chris Ramos serving as the front two, given the style of play and the outcome against Alaves. As previously noted, Cadiz is aware of what it takes to triumph at Camp Nou, and as Getafe showed last weekend, this Barcelona team is by no means a traditional one. Although we anticipate Xavi’s team to successfully navigate their way to all three points in their second game of the season, this could be a challenging game for them.
Barcelona 2 – 1 Cadiz
For more football previews, click here
