"Barcelona returned to training yesterday after a short festive break, and the mood around the squad is one of focus rather than celebration. With momentum on their side, the challenge now is to carry that form into what promises to be one of the most demanding starts to a calendar year in recent memory. To put the scale of the challenge into context, the team will not play a single match at home until the end of January. In fact, Barça's first six fixtures of the new year will all be away from home, a schedule that leaves little room for error."
"Their competitive return begins with a derby against Espanyol on January 3 and just days later, Barcelona travel again for the Spanish Super Cup semi-final against Athletic Club on January 7. The month continues with another difficult league assignment away to Real Sociedad on January 18, followed by a UEFA Champions League clash against Slavia Prague on January 21. Two additional fixtures could further complicate the schedule, notably, a potential Super Cup final on January 11 and a Copa del Rey round of 16 tie, scheduled between January 13 and 15."
"One big issue There is, however, one big concern. Almost all of Barcelona's defeats this season have come away from home. Aside from the 1-2 loss to Paris Saint-Germain, every setback has occurred on the road, including league defeats to Sevilla and Real Madrid, as well as a Champions League loss to Chelsea. This is why January represents a defining moment."
Barcelona returned to training after a short festive break, with the squad focused rather than celebratory. The team must carry momentum into a demanding start to the calendar year. Barcelona will not play a home match until late January; the first six fixtures are all away. Early competitive games include Espanyol (Jan 3), the Spanish Super Cup semi-final vs Athletic Club (Jan 7), Real Sociedad (Jan 18) and Slavia Prague (Jan 21). Potential additional matches are a Super Cup final (Jan 11) and a Copa del Rey round of 16 tie (Jan 13–15). The first home fixture at Spotify Camp Nou is Jan 24–25 vs Real Oviedo, and the final Champions League group match at home is against Copenhagen on Jan 28. Nearly all defeats this season occurred away from home, so January is a defining period.
Read at Barca Universal
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]