As matchday 11 of La Liga approaches and Villarreal examine their team to face Barcelona at the Camp Nou, coach Marcelino will be having selection headaches.
Injuries, suspensions and the Europa League have all come together at a bad time for the Yellow Submarine, as their next game takes them to the home of the champions and joint league-leaders.
Coming out of their match with Sevilla, El Submarino Amarillo have four major injury concerns and two players who picked up suspensions.
Shortly after scoring his side’s second goal, Cedric Bakambu limped-off the pitch with what appeared to be a muscle injury. With no news released since the match the most likely of outcomes is that the Congolese striker was suffering from cramps, but having already missed a month of the season with an ankle injury this could be worrying for the club’s top goal scorer.
Further compounding Villarreal’s misery upfront is the unavailability of the other three recognised forwards for the trip to Barcelona.
Adrian Lopez, who is on loan at the Spanish side from Portuguese heavyweights Porto, will miss the next three months of football having just undergone hamstring surgery. This loss is in conjunction with Villarreal’s second on-loan forward, Leo Baptistao. The Brazilian is also out with a hamstring injury that will likely see him sidelined for the whole of November – hopefully returning in time for the trip to Granada on Jornada 13.
In their place for the midweek Europe League tie against Dinamo Minsk will be Roberto Soldado, but the former-Tottenham forward will play no part against Barcelona, having picked up his fifth yellow card against Sevilla and thus will miss the domestic clash due to suspension.
At the other end of the pitch Ivorian Eric Bailly will miss the match, having also earned his fifth booking of the season. His absence in the backline is another issue for Marcelino, already without Mateo Musacchio who fractured his ankle at the back-end of last season. The Argentine’s return has not yet been confirmed by the club, but without the two central-defenders for the trip to the Camp Nou, Villarreal’s stocks are very short.
Victor Ruiz will lineup as one part of the centre pairing for the Yellow Submarine, but his partner is not an obvious choice. 34-year-old Daniele Bonera looks the likeliest of options, but the Italian is short on match time this season. Having joined the club on deadline day from Milan, the veteran has yet to see 90 minutes in La Primera.
In his time at El Madrigal, Bonera has only appeared twice in the league, starting the 0-0 draw against Las Palmas and replacing Eric Bailly in the latest fixture for the last minutes of the match. He has played a full outing for the club in the Europa League, as Villarreal went down 2-1 to Rapid Wien.
It is likely Bonera will see game time against Dinamo Minsk as Marcelino continues his rotation policy. This shifting of the squad could see up to 10 changes made from the side that took to the field against Sevilla, with only Soldado likely to start against the Belarusians.
If fit Bailly may feature in the Thursday night fixture, but his departure on a stretcher against the Red and Whites puts that in doubt. It will likely mean a second game in four days for Ruiz, who will then start the clash against Barcelona three days later. Marcelino’s other centre-back option is 21-year-old Pablo Iniguez, who has not played any part this season for the top team, but has nine appearances at the B level.
Antonio Rukavina is another option for the Yellow Submarine and although preferably a right-back, he has performed in the middle on occasion this season.
The Europa League may already be hindering Villarreal’s progress in 2015-16, as an added fixture before travelling to Barcelona is never one fondly looked upon. What will be making the coach happy are the performances of his midfield. Denis Suarez and Jonathon Dos Santos had their best games of the season against Sevilla and Manu Trigueros did not look out of place in the middle of the park.
Bruno will be likely sit out the visit of Minsk, as may Tomas Pina, who with his more defensive-minded approach will likely partner his captain against the Blaugrana.
Choosing who will play on either side of them will be another tough decision for the coach due to the form of the aforementioned Suarez and Dos Santos, as well as the ability of Samu Castillejo and Nahuel Leiva.
Nahuel will see game time at the Camp Nou in some capacity. A favourite of Marcelino’s, the young Spaniard has played on the wing as well as up front already for the Yellow Submarine this season. That versatility will likely see him lead the line with Bakambu in the biggest match of his young career.
Playing against Barcelona is a tough test for the best of squads. Teams with embarrassments of riches like Real Madrid stutter when hitting the hallowed turf of the Camp Nou, but for Marcelino’s men this will be an even bigger test of character. Being their third game in eight days will not aid Villarreal and with so many players missing, a trip to the champions may spell disaster for the Yellow Submarine.
What are your thoughts? Let us know by dropping a comment below via our Facebook comment box. Make sure you follow us on Twitter @Outside90 and like us on Facebook.
