Three talking points ahead of Barcelona vs Osasuna | La Liga MD16 | OneFootball

Barcelona’s win over Eintracht Frankfurt midweek was anything but straightforward, especially with the Catalans needing a Jules Kounde brace to get them over the line.

Three games now remain before they disperse for the winter break, and the first of them is against Osasuna at home.

Alessio Lisci’s men have not had a season to remember so far and languish in 15th place, just three points ahead of the relegation zone. Their recent form, however, has been far more encouraging as they are unbeaten in three games and have won their last two games.

Barça Universal brings you three talking points ahead of Barcelona vs Osasuna.

Midfield mainstay to return

Frenkie de Jong was briefly out of Barcelona’s squad for some personal matters and returned to the dynamics only for the past two games. On both occasions, he started on the bench.

Hansi Flick, meanwhile, placed his faith in the combination of Pedri and Eric Garcia to come good in the double-pivot, and the duo did well to control the middle of the park.

Tomorrow, however, the manager could bring De Jong back as a starter, and all signs point to him joining Pedri as a starter with Eric Garcia moving back to a defensive role.

The team are yet to play three games this year before dispersing for the break, and Flick sees it to be crucial to balance out players’ minutes. The Dutchman’s return, hence, is close to guaranteed, and he will look to restore his synergy with Pedri.

Other minor rotations are expected to feature, with there being a strong chance of Marcus Rashford or Roony Bardghji featuring and Robert Lewandowski being rested. The big change, however, is undoubtedly that of De Jong’s return.

Long time, no clean sheet

In search of a clean sheet. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

Joan Garcia returned from his lengthy layoff period in Barcelona’s game against Athletic Club and has remained the team’s starting goalkeeper ever since.

His return from injury was highly celebrated, and rightfully so, given how solid he has been at the back for the team this season. In fact, he kept Barcelona’s first clean sheet after ten games on the night in what was a fairytale return.

Since then, he has started five games for Barcelona across all competitions and has done exceedingly well, not only with shot-stopping but also with his distribution and sweeping ability. Yet, he has not maintained another clean sheet.

For the effort he has been putting in, Garcia deserves to have clean sheets to his name, and the team’s tendency to concede early is not helping his cause.

One of the priorities against Osasuna, beyond taking the three points, thus, will be to maintain a clean sheet after a long time. After all, there is a real need to buckle up defensively and do better as a unit.

A chance to pull clear

Real Madrid’s recent form in La Liga has been poor to say the least, and their consistent negative results have helped Barcelona not only catch up but surge ahead.

The team’s win over Real Betis last weekend took Barcelona to 40 points with 16 games played in the competition. Real Madrid, meanwhile, fell against Celta Vigo and are now on just 36 points with as many games played.

Having already secured a reasonably solid lead, the Catalans must look to capitalise on the coming matchday, for it presents them with a massive opportunity to pull further clear of their arch-rivals.

Real Madrid take on Alaves later in the week and would be overwhelming favourites under any normal circumstances. Two red cards against Celta Vigo, however, now see them enter the game with both of their left-back options unavailable.

Adding to that the fact that the team do not have both right-back options and just two starting centre-backs available, Los Blancos are severely crippled at the back.

Their ongoing form with the aforementioned setbacks, thus, leaves a massive chance of them dropping points and Barcelona must take all three points to pile the pressure on them.

It is a golden chance indeed, and Hansi Flick’s men must bear the same in the back of their minds on Saturday.