BARCA vs DORTMUND: PREVIEW, PREDICTIONS & THE POTENTIAL MATCH OF THE YEAR

              As the Champions League group stage draw was underway and Petr Cech was reaching his languid hands into the bowl to retrieve each plastic ball, every Barcelona fan knew damn well that the group we'd be forced to deal with would be harder than anyone else's in the competition. 
              Ever since Barcelona won the Champions League over Manchester United (for the first time) in 2009, we've been given difficult groups and marquee Round of 16 matchups, frequently against English clubs. 
              I've always wondered if teams like Wenger's Arsenal, Premier League Champions to Europa League Champions Chelsea FC or even Bayern Munich had been condemned to play in some of the groups we'd been drawn into over the years, would they have even advanced half of the time?
              Well well well, once again, the Catalan giants have been given yet another Group of Death...potentially the only group of such consequence in the tournament.
              In our group is Lucien Favre's Borussia Dortmund, Antonio Conte's upset-ready Inter Milan and luckily for us, two back to back matches vs Slavia Prague (while Inter and Dortmund must battle each other successively, clearly giving us a boost to 1st place, or if we falter against Dortmund or Inter, hands us a lifeline to advance). 
              And to start things off with a bang (like UEFA loves to set up) we head to Signal Iduna Park for the first time since the 2nd leg of the 1997 UEFA Super Cup final.
              This will be a fascinating atmosphere that should provide the chills and hair to rise on the back of the neck, while the players on the pitch will be giving us a feast of fury to witness.
              Even better for fans?
              Dortmund are playing some badass football in the Bundesliga, scoring 13 goals from 11 assists already, grabbing between 662-888 passes in all of their matches: dominating the tempo and transition with possession-oriented flair and usually punishing opponents with scathingly athletic counter attacking play. English winger Jadon Sancho is on a tear (3 goals and 5 assists, 2 & 4 in the Bundesliga), dribbling opponents into the ground, setting up and scoring goals with equal fervor and combining impressively time after time with Dortmund captain Marco Reus (3 goals). 
              Meanwhile, Dortmund striker Paco Alcacer already has 6 goals and an assist, picking up where he left off last year and the former Barcelona man should surely be looking for revenge. 

             Alcacer appeared 50 times over two seasons for Barcelona, however he only played for a pittance, 2,287 minutes. 
             In that time he had 15 goals and 8 assists and I firmly believe Alcacer (who scored on the weekend and set up another with a brilliant dummy) will be extremely desperate for vengeance against the club that has forsaken him.
            And for Barcelona, there is a boost of great news in the buildup to Tuesday: not only is Luis Suarez back from his recent injury, scoring a brace from the bench vs Valencia, but Lionel Messi has also returned in training and looks great, while "prodigal son" Ousmane Dembele is on his way, too. 
           Don't get too excited though, we'll only be seeing the two of them for 10-20 minutes vs Dortmund at most, if at all, since it is such early days in the campaign.
              But if Valverde is to start Messi and Ousmane Dembele in this match (I get Dembouz may have a high personal interest in this one and Messi always wants to play) we'll surely see a cycle of injuries in both players throughout the season...this is an option Valverde cannot and should not take. If he actually starts either player, let alone both, this would depict Valverde at an all time low.
       
          Still, the real headlines are on the pitch, not in the medical rooms, and the biggest has easily been the emergence of 16 year old Ansu Fati: announcing himself by scoring two freakish goals in consecutive matches, taking on all-comers with zero fear, showing brilliant skill in the box & laying on an otherworldly cutback assist for Frenkie De Jong. The kid's arrival has now brought about a competition between Fati and Dembele to start alongside Messi or Griezmann, let alone the newly fit Suarez. 

             Yet the most important addition to Barcelona's play since the international break has bee Valverde finally playing the right starting XI: Fati deserving a start on the left, the rock and roll football provided by the Frenkie-Arthur-Busi midfield selection (which this author has been screaming for since the signing of De Jong), starting Nelson Semedo at right back, and thankfully resisting the temptation to start Suarez and risk a relapse of his injury (for once, a lesson understood by Valverde??). 
             It's a wonder how disgustingly untouchably filthy this new Barca team really was the last two years when we had a manager making 
the right decisions, 
starting the right players 
& motivating the 
players with the 
right message & tactical philosophy...
the thing 
is, we hardly ever saw that Barcelona, even when successful, there was always something lacking, a performance level that was lackadaisical at best. This lack of commitment constantly reared its ugly head in the deep throes of intense knockout round matches. Twice now in consecutive 2nd legs away from the chill of Camp Nou, Valverde has started the wrong team around Lionel Messi and Barca has been on the end of historically embarrassing come from behind defeats. 


             In 2019/2020, with a squad like this, the results must be unmistakeable. 
                There was never a requirement or a luxury spot available for Neymar or any other cavalier horrific signing such as the Kevin-Prince Boateng comedy or the Andre Gomes shame. We already had the minerals to win every title in sight...just not the Champions League. 
             But imagine if Ernesto Valverde can stay out of the way of this freight train Barca team? 
             If he'll continue to avoid his love affair with Ivan Rakitic and consistently select Arthur (who Valverde seemed to hate only a week ago) and Frenkie De Jong in tandem as Busquets trolls the opponent from the anchor, we'll be a tough outing for Dortmund, especially if we frustrate and drain their energies by working their press with fast, quick, one touch passing...always working the wings with diagonal balls...we could be impossible to get the ball from under the right tactical disciplines.        
          If we can maintain our high tempo / high pressing standards set by these two heavy metal matches vs Betis and Valencia, we should definitely get a favorable result at Signal Iduna Park with the right decisions made by Ernie.
            With a team at Valverde's disposal full of first class / surreal options around Lionel Messi, the best player of all time such as Ousmane Dembele, Antoine Griezmann, Frenkie De Jong, of course Luis Suarez and now the relaxed, confident machine Ansu Fati, 
we should never see a 4-4-2 ever again. 
            And we better not see it against Borussia Dortmund or we will lose the first group stage match of the season, Messi or no Messi, Suarez or no Suarez.
            We have to see our 4-3-3 midfield trio fully equipped and supported by the young energy on the wings of at least one or both of Carlos Perez or Ansu Fati. The battle for the midfield is often times won by how we press and win the ball on the wings, proving how every area on the pitch can be elemental to victory when it comes down to the finest of margins against the best of teams.
             Dortmund is one of those units who can press like madmen, attack with high-pressing fullbacks / wingers and can counter attack to devastating effect against possession-hungry squads. Barcelona have to be on high alert and must maintain patience throughout the pitch in the build-up when playing Dortmund and to do that, to play with command against a team who presses so willingly, you have to control the moments of transition.
             We don't need a training session under Valverde to guide this team into doing this (that's a hilarious image), but we do need him to start an XI that is fully capable of beating Dortmund instead of a team fully capable of protecting him from the media by gaining results in the dullest ways imaginable.


              We shall see...he did rest Sergi Roberto against Valencia, potentially to start at Signal Iduna over Nelson Semedo, though as a big supporter of Roberto (just not at right back) I'm okay with seeing the man play, I don't think this is a match where he should be starting over Nelson Semedo. 
           As good as Sergi 
was vs Betis, he was 
playing in midfield, 
not at right back &
against Dortmund's left wing axis of Nico Schulz &Thorgan Hazard or Julian Brandt, they need the defensive skill and natural wing-play of Nelson Semedo.
            That was proven at Anfield...a match Semedo should've started.
            Will Carlos Perez retain his starting spot at right forward? Let's hope he does, as the kid has shown some brilliance in his play, grabbing 2 assists vs Osasuna.
            Dortmund should scare the hell out of our back four, boasting an attack containing Jadon Sancho's pace, Marco Reus's smart runs and the elusive poacher Paco Alcacer, a trifecta of worry for the shameful way in which we've defended so far this season.
             Barca have to keep a clean sheet if they want to beat Dortmund, no way around that, as anyone who's watched this blistering young squad under Lucien Favre well knows: this team scores goals in bunches and in waves of mutilation. 
             With that trio surrounded by such phenomenal new talent as Julian Brandt, Thorgan Hazard and Nico Schulz, Barca defenders Gerard Pique and Clement Lenglet need to get on the same page with Jordi Alba and Nelson Semedo quickly.
            Instead of typing "Nelson Semedo", I was just about to type "whoever's playing right back"...which is a problem Valverde has created, he cannot force Roberto to play an unnatural position like this. He needs to start Semedo continuously and resume rotating Sergi Roberto in midfield whenever Frenkie, Arthur or Busquets needs a future rest.
            A front three of Griezmann, Fati and Carlos Perez would be perfect alongside the scintillating play of the midfield three and the robust nature of Nelson Semedo's strong tackling at right back. Roberto would also be a fantastic option in midfield for later in the match to add more intensity, a deft final ball and never-ending energy if Perez or Fati begin to wane.
           Really, the match comes down to three things:

1. How Well Dortmund Can Defend: they've leaked goals at times as of late and goalkeeper Roman Burki does have a myriad of errors in his locker. Though on the weekend they kept a clean sheet and Burki can also be a fantastic goalkeeper on his day.


2. Minimize the Amount of Saves Ter Stegen Must Make: 

we know Sancho, Reus & Alcacer (among others) are going to get their chances and we're used to Marc-Andre Ter Stegen pulling off some absolutely breathtaking saves to help Barcelona to victory...but vs Dortmund, we cannot allow our own box and goal to become a shooting gallery, Ter Stegen isolated. Barcelona must defend as an entire XI man unit to keep this all important clean sheet (one which would be the first of the season).

3. The Combination Play of Griezmann, 
De Jong and Arthur:

If these three can begin to combine in and around the Dortmund area, they'll all effectively free up and invite every player from the Barcelona XI to take part in righteous attacking play: Frenkie & Arthur combining and inviting Busquets forward, Busquets launching passes in behind and through balls, Griezmann dropping in and combining would invite Perez and Fati to pull inside and drag defenders to and fro, thus clearing perfect lanes for Jordi Alba and Nelson Semedo to streak down the edges of the opposition box, setting up the over-the-top diagonal ball...Barca's meat and potatoes: one of the sexiest meat and potatoes dishes you'll ever see. 
            If this type of swaggering one-touch play exudes off of the Barcelona players on the pitch, whomever they may be, they'll surely be unbeatable, even by a five star Dortmund.

Desired XI:
GK Ter Stegen
RB Semedo
CB Pique
CB Lenglet
LB Alba
CDM Busquets
RCM De Jong
LCM Arthur
RF Perez
CF Griezmann
LF Fati 

Subs: Suarez for Fati, Roberto for Perez

PREDICTION: 
Barcelona win 2-0, a match featuring a bevy of fantastic play and goalkeeping saves that's eventually won by two late goals from Griezmann and Suarez, both assisted by Frenkie De Jong.