Ronald Koeman’s plan to make changes to his Barcelona team for Saturday’s La Liga clash with Getafe look to be under threat due to the effects of the recent international break.
The Dutch coach had been expected to rotate his team to keep key players fresh for forthcoming clashes against Real Madrid in La Liga and Juventus in the group stages of the Champions League.
New signings Sergino Dest, Miralem Pjanic, and Francisco Trincao had all been tipped to start but Koeman may have to rethink his plans. Barcelona have confirmed that Trincao missed Thursday’s training session and is not due to back until Friday.
The 21-year-old has been away with the Portugal team for games against Sweden, France, and Spain. Captain Cristiano Ronaldo tested positive for Covid-19 during the international break and may now miss Juventus’s UCL fixture against Barca.
Pjanic is also a doubt for Saturday’s game, according to Jordi Gil at Sport. The midfielder did “specific work” in the gym on Thursday after picking up a minor back injury while playing for Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Nations League against Poland.
However, Koeman should be able to count on Dest. The USMNT starlet is still expected to make his full debut on Saturday at left-back, as both Jordi Alba and Junior Firpo are not expected to be back from injury in time.
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Barcelona vs Getafe Team News
Koeman could therefore continue with Frenkie de Jong and Sergio Busquets as his double pivot in midfield. The duo have started all three La Liga games so far in 2020-21 in Koeman’s new 4-3-2-1 formation.
De Jong played all 90 minutes of the Netherlands’ Nations League draw with Italy on Wednesday, but Busquets should be fresh as he did not feature in Spain’s surprise defeat to Ukraine.
Up front Koeman could simply continue with his attack of Lionel Messi, Philippe Coutinho, Ansu Fati, and Antoine Griezmann against Getafe. Trincao had been tipped to start with Koeman believed to be contemplating resting Messi as he played at altitude for Argentina against Bolivia on Tuesday.
Yet there are other options if Koeman does want to freshen things up. Ousmane Dembele is fit, available and pushing for his first start of 2020-21, while 17-year-old summer signing Pedri is also in contention.
Barcelona’s Brutal Fixture List
Koeman is also likely have one eye on Barca’s brutal fixture list when it comes to choosing his side. After taking on Getafe the Catalan giants play six games in 19 days against Ferencváros, Real Madrid, Juventus, Alavés, Dinamo Kiev, and Real Betis.
Rotation will be key for those matches in order to keep his team fit and firing and means Koeman will have to take plenty into consideration when naming his starting XIs.
The Dutch coach has been reluctant to rotate in his first three games in charge but fans can expect plenty of changes in the coming weeks which should also give fringe players the chance to stake a claim for a starting place.
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