#3 Injuries to key players in Barcelona
Barcelona’s attacking triumvirate is arguably the best in world football, with the trio of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez constantly putting teams to the sword.
However, an over-reliance on these front 3 could eventually prove Barcelona’s undoing. Their win-rate with and without Messi make for a sombre reading; with their Argentine talisman, Barca have claimed 27/30 points and without him a mere 10/21.
Barcelona have looked jaded these past few weeks, with moments of individual brilliance often bailing them out. Of course, the long list of injuries they’ve had has played a part in some of their sub-par results. Andres Iniesta has been out with a serious knee injury since October, Samuel Umtiti’s hamstring injury has seen him missing their matches in November, Jeremy Mathieu has been out with a muscle injury and smaller niggling injuries to the likes of Pique and Alba has seen them miss a few matches too.
While Madrid have a long line of absentees through injuries as well , the likes of Toni Kroos, Gareth Bale, Alvaro Morata, Raphael Varane all currently out injured, their squad depth has seen them navigate their fixtures with relative ease.
When the two sides meet next Saturday, Madrid will feel they have the upper hand.
