Barcelona must end La Real unbeaten home record - Real sociedad vs Fc Barcelona

Barcelona visits Real Sociedad at  Estadio Municipal de Anoeta on Sunday, a side they have had trouble beating away from home with the aim of  returning to  winning ways very much the order of the day as fortunes of title rival improve.

MSN TRAINING WITH REAL SOCIEDAD IN MIND credit:getty image

There  arguably couldn't have been a more difficult place to play for Barcelona than at Anoeta- traditionally unhappy hunting ground for the Blaugranes with just one win in the last six visits.

The goal less draw to Malaga was an appalling performance from start to finish and one that ensured neither the players nor Lucho could leave Camp nou with their head held high.
 

Another loss or draw would not go down well, with a return to winning ways very much the order of the day, as Barcelona look to put a stop to a potential early season wobble.

Having had to endure Juande  Ramos's negative tactics for 90 minutes,  Luis Enrique side will again come up against a side famed for beating them 1-0 2014/2015 league campaign.

Barcelona will need to be  in their best form and ruthless against Real Sociedad- something they struggled to be against Malaga with 3 points crucial With the El Clasico on the horizon.

Blaugranes currently sit 2nd in the table and just 7 points adrift of leaders Real Madrid and a tougher fixture await them.

La Real have had an excellent start to the Campaign winning their last four consecutive matches in LA liga, picking up 12 points against Sporting Gijon, Athletico Madrid, Laganes and Alaves respectively, however the Anoeta  will make the Spanish giants to work hard for a victory,with the Blaugrana unable to pick up a win there since the days of Frank Rijkaard.

 

Luis Enrique will be  very aware of a possible backlash if his side were to draw or loss against  the high achieving Eusebio's side.But though a challenging task, lucho's men must see the clash as the ideal opportunity  to prove they mean business.

While our Anoeta's record is dire,our potentially blistering attack against a possibly beatable Real sociedad should inspire belief that a perfect game can be had, setting ourselves nicely for what could be another 3 points at Camp Nou against REAL Madrid.

Luis Enrique assured in his prematch press conference on Saturday that Barcelona’s poor record against Real Sociedad has nothing to do with Sunday’s game.credit:getty image

If the Blaugranes could win at Estadio Municipal de Anoeta on Sunday to hit the ground running- possible if playing to the level shown against Sevilla- it would send shock waves  through  the the league that Barcelona are ready.

Luis Enrique assured in his prematch press conference on Saturday that Barcelona’s poor record against Real Sociedad has nothing to do with Sunday’s game. It will be another story and that’s what he’s transmitted to his players, who he’s asked to focus on repeating their last performance, a tricky win at Celtic. The Barça coach is convinced that the result on Sunday will be exclusively dependent on how the two teams play during the 90 minutes. credit:SPORT

 “I’m not in the slightest bit interested in talking about the past,” he said. “It has nothing to do with what happens on Sunday. You can talk about one year ago, two years ago.. it makes no difference. The only game that counts is our most recent game, a win at Celtic. Anything before that, 2004, 2005, whatever, is irrelevant. We have to focus on playing our game and I am sure La Real are thinking the same. Previous results have no influence.”

  “I don’t know any top flight ground that’s easy, they’re all difficult, away games are always tough. [La Real] game is an attractive game against a very good opponent, with an attacking idea, which I like. I congratulate Eusebio for what he’s done, but previous years have nothing to do with Sunday. We are all looking forward to winning tomorrow at Anoeta.”

Hopefully, Luis Enrique could name a unchanged team as Barcelona face Real Sociedad on Sunday, with Iniesta and Umtiti set to miss out, but the Blaugranes boss may deploy a more attack-minded side as always.

Goalkeeper

Marc-Andre ter Stegen has managed two consecutive clean sheets but in all
fairness, it has to be said that the goalkeeper was not overly worked against Malaga or indeed in the encounter with Celtic.
However, things could be different against a dangerous Real Sociedad side
and ter Stegen will surely have to be on his guard in order to keep another clean sheet this weekend.

Defense
Samuel Umtiti and Jeremy Mathieu still remain ruled out which means that the duo of Gerard Pique and Javier Mascherano will continue their partnership at the heart of the Barcelona backline.
Pique and Mascherano have looked solid recently, while the consistent Jordi Alba and Sergio Roberto will also be keen on maintaining their strong run of form in the full-back positions.
 

Midfield
Andres Iniesta’s long term injury means that Andre Gomes is likely to extend his run in the Barcelona starting lineup on Sunday as well.
Sergio Busquets and Ivan Rakitic have been the cornerstone of Barcelona’s team this season and the duo will surely have to perform well to guide the Catalans to victory against Sociedad this weekend.

Attack 

The trio of Luis Suarez, Neymar and Lionel Messi started together for the first time in a long while against Celtic in the midweek Champions League encounter and it goes without saying that the Barcelona attack looked much more potent with the presence of the trio. The three superstars are expected to lineup in attack on Sunday as well and they will surely need to play to their best to see off the solid Sociedad backline.

FCB need to draw inspiration from the 2-1 win at Sevilla and buid upon it Tweak it to be more convincing especially in the early stages.

Hopefully another supreme attacking display awaits us.