This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…
Barcelona host Valencia at the Camp Nou this Saturday and if the past encounters are any indication this one is gearing up to be another special clash.
On the chalkboard
The two have faced each other 25 times since 2011, counting all competitions, and Barcelona are currently leading the way with 14 wins while Los Che only have three. But there were also eight draws recorded during that time as well.
What is interesting is that the Blaugrana have recorded two draws and a Copa del Rey final defeat in the last three games, which emphasises how tricky an opponent Valencia actually are for the Catalans.
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With that being said, Ernesto Valverde will absolutely have to make sure that his troops win the battle in the midfield. Sergio Busquets and Daniel Parejo will most likely go head-to-head in this exchange.
The battle of the captains
If Busquets can establish dominance and control the proceedings, Barcelona will surely have a bigger chance to win the game when everything is said and done.
But Parejo is a huge presence in the opposite camp, and the stats he accumulated this season can attest to that.
The 30-year-old midfielder has so far averaged 2.5 key passes per game, 86.4% passing accuracy and 70 average passes per game in the two outings he has had in La Liga so far. Busquets has a similar tally: 1.5 key passes, 89.5% passing accuracy and 76.5 average passes per game so far, also in two games played in the 2019/20 campaign.
Of course, the duo have slightly different arsenals at their disposal and thrive at different things. Busquets is naturally more defensive as Barcelona’s number one pivot and Parejo is more inclined to attack, dictate the play and rattle the net, which he has done twice so far this season, while his 31-year-old Spanish compatriot has one assist to his name.
Busquets has also registered 3.5 tackles per game and was only dribbled past once per game so far. Parejo is not far behind on this one, either, with two tackles per game but he was dribbled past 2.5 times on average.
By the looks of it, both players have huge influences on their respective teams and it’s difficult to escape the feeling that whoever wins this battle and establishes dominance just might win the game as well.
We’ll have to wait until Saturday, however, to get our answer.
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