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Barcelona returns to the hunt for the leader who left in style before the league break after beating Real Sociedad, the flaming Cup champion, 1-6 at home. He will do it tonight closing the day at the Camp Nou (9:00 p.m., Movistar LaLiga) against Valladolid that arrives in the box between injuries, sanctions and losses due to COVID. The pucelanos accumulate ten absences, so Sergio has no choice but to pull players from Promises.
The Castilian team seems a propitious victim for a Barcelona that is in danger of giving up the game for liquidation before being played due to the temptation to pay more attention to next Saturday's game: neither more nor less than the visit to Valdebebas to face in the Classic to Real Madrid.
Koeman's main task, as the Dutch coach acknowledged in the pre-game press conference, is that his players are for the present.
For this reason, Koeman wants to lead by example and dropped that he does not intend to reserve anyone thinking about the big game next Saturday. A decision that carries its objective risks, especially in what affects two pieces so fundamental for the Blaugrana team as they are Messi and De Jong. Both players accumulate four yellow cards and if they are cautioned in the course of tonight's game they will miss the Classic. For now, if Koeman is to be believed, both will be in the starting eleven. “This is not the time to reserve anyone,” said the Dutchman.
For his part, Sergio González could not be clearer when he summed up the mood of his team on Saturday. “It has been a shitty week,” said the coach, who made it clear that he does not intend to throw the game, but is aware that scoring seems an almost impossible mission. The pucelanos are three points above the zone that marks the descent after starting an important draw against Sevilla on the last day played.