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#2 Barcelona’s tactical imbalance and worrying midfield form
The 2015 Barcelona side which won the Champions League against Juventus was a settled side. They always played the 4-3-3 formation and they could rely on the likes of Xavi, Iniesta and Rakitic to provide balance and the cutting edge.
However, this season has seen Barcelona move slightly away from their ethos of tiki-taka football. Not afraid to play long balls, Barcelona have slightly lost their identity under Luis Enrique. Also, the likes of Iniesta, Rakitic and Denis Suarez have failed to live up to their potential.
While the likes of Messi, Neymar and Suarez have been at their usual best, there has been a general overreliance on their brilliance to dig out results. Enrique has also experimented with a 3 man defence with mixed results.
Also read: Bonucci: Barcelona not as strong as in 2015
Barcelona have failed to replace the likes of Dani Alves and Xavi successfully and this has forced Enrique to tweak with the tactics. All this means that Barcelona are not as good as the 2015 side which won the Champions League against Juventus and the Old Lady are arguably the favourites to get a good result in the first leg.
