Barcelona will be bidding to record their first victory of the 2023-24 La Liga campaign when they welcome Cadiz to Camp Nou on Sunday evening.
The Catalan outfit were held to a goalless draw by Getafe in their season opener last weekend, while Cadiz got off to a winning start by beating Alaves 1-0 on home soil.
Barcelona proved to be comfortably the best side in Spain’s top flight last season, winning the title with four games to spare, and they ultimately finished 10 points clear of second-placed Real Madrid at the summit
However, their title defence begun with an underwhelming goalless draw against Getafe last weekend, and there is no getting away from the fact that it has been a difficult transfer window for the club thus far.
Key figures in the shape of Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba left on free transfers, while Ousmane Dembele has joined Paris Saint-Germain, with Barcelona now looking short in the final third of the field, as two of their three signings this summer, Oriol Romeu and Ilkay Gundogan, are midfielders.
A win on Sunday would leave everyone connected with the club feeling a lot better, but more dropped points would certainly lead to question marks, and Xavi could potentially find himself coming under some pressure in the managerial position if the team find it difficult to get going this season.
Barcelona have only actually won two of their last six La Liga games against Cadiz, with both of those victories coming last season, and they were excellent at Camp Nou during the 2022-23 campaign, picking up 48 points from their 19 league matches in front of their own supporters.
Cadiz, meanwhile, secured all three points against Alaves in their campaign opener on Monday evening, with Fede San Emeterio netting the only goal of the contest in the seventh minute.
Sergio Gonzalez’s side finished 14th in La Liga last season, with their survival battle going to the final day, and they are competing at this level for the fourth campaign in a row, which is their best run since the early 1990s.
Cadiz have been active during this summer’s transfer window, with Gonzalo Escalante and Sergi Guardiola arriving permanently following loan spells, while Darwin Machis and Javi Hernandez are also among those to join the club.
The Yellow Submarine only managed to pick up 15 points from their 19 away league games last term, so their results on the road is clearly an area that needs to improve during the 2023-24 campaign if they are to stay away from a relegation battle.
Cadiz have previous when it comes to winning at Camp Nou, meanwhile, recording a 1-0 victory in the famous stadium when the two teams locked horns during the 2021-22 campaign.
Barcelona will be without the services of Ronald Araujo for the next month due to a thigh problem, while Inigo Martinez is still not ready to feature, with the defender recovering from a foot injury.
Sergi Roberto could potentially come into the side at right-back, while Abde Ezzalzouli is also in line for a start, as Raphinha is suspended following his red card against Getafe last weekend.
Ezzalzouli could play alongside Gavi and Robert Lewandowski in the final third of the field, while Andreas Christensen is fit to start despite being substituted at the interval in the team’s first game of the season.
Cadiz, meanwhile, will be without the services of Escalante through suspension, with the summer arrival sent off after featuring off the bench against Alaves.
Brian Ocampo, Guardiola and Victor Chust will also be missing for the visitors due to injury problems.
Due to the nature of the performance and indeed result against Alaves, there is every chance that Sergio could select the same XI for this match, with Roger and Chris Ramos operating as the front two.
Barcelona possible starting lineup:
Ter Stegen; Roberto, Kounde, Christensen, Balde; Pedri, De Jong, Gundogan; Ezzalzouli, Lewandowski, Gavi
Cadiz possible starting lineup:
Ledesma; Carcelen, Fali, L Hernandez, J Hernandez; Alejo, Emeterio, Alcaraz, Machis; Ramos, Roger
We say: Barcelona 2-1 Cadiz
Cadiz, as mentioned, know what it takes to win at Camp Nou, and this is not a classic Barcelona side by any means, as Getafe demonstrated last weekend. This has the potential to be a tricky game for Xavi’s team, but we are expecting them to navigate their way to all three points in their second match of the campaign.
