Vallecano/Barcelona
Barcelona ML (-145)
Backing Barcelona for the third time in three games this season, they are bound to draw or lose at some point but not tomorrow. Their dream start continues as they gain another three points Tuesday afternoon.
It sucks but Barcelona will once again be without Andreas Christensen, Ansu Fate, Ronald Araujo, Frenkie de Jong and Ravi due to injuries. New comer Dani Olmo was just registered so he should be available to play but unsure how many minutes he will play, if any, due to his lack of matches for the club. Even with all those injuries for Barca I still expect them to win with the remaining quality they will have on the pitch.
It seems Lewandowski has reinvented himself under ex Bayern Munich coach Hansi Flick, the same coach where he scored 40+ goals in a single Bundesliga season. Lewandowski has started off the season with 3 goals in two matches, small sample size and still super early but a magnificent start for the Polish man and the city of Barcelona. I am excited to see what he ca do this season, Barcelona will need him in good form to make a run at the title.
The previous two wins haven't come that easy for Barca. Going down 0-1 against Valencia before coming back to win 2-1 and being tied 1-1 to Athletic before finding the winner in the second half and winning 2-1 once again. I am hoping this game comes a little easier for them.
When these two teams played last season the matches ended 1-1 (1st meeting) and 3-0 (2nd meeting) in favor of Barcelona. Although they only scored one goal in the first meeting, Barcelona managed 15 total shots and 67% possession. Balls weren't finding the back of the net but they controlled the majority of the game. In the second matchup they had 3 goals, 14 total shots, 6 on goal, 7 corners and controlled 72% of the possession. Another game where they dominated the ball and were able to convert their chances.
I think we will see a similar game style tomorrow. Vallecano will sit back and allow Barcelona to control most of the ball and force them to work the ball through their defense. This is very similar to Rayo Vallecano's season opener against Real Sociedad where they lined up in a 4-4-2 formation, Sociedad controlled 65.7% of the possession and had 11 attempts with 10 corners.
I don't mind this style of play, I think Barcelona has the talent to patiently work the ball in and make the most out of their opportunities. We saw this in the first two games against Valencia where they had 64.2% possession and against Athletic with 65.4%. Barca get it done in a low scorer. GL.
