A couple of bad results have left Barcelona manager Ronald Koeman under big pressure and he must deliver in Thursday’s match against Cadiz or his time at the helm could be over.
Koeman desperately needs a big performance and a comfortable win here to buy some time. Bookmaker 10Bet has the odds at 2.50 for Barcelona to win by at least two goals and at 5.25 for the Blaugrana to get at least a three-goal victory.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: September 22nd, 9:00 A.M. (EST)
Koeman’s future was in doubt throughout the summer, but Barca decided to give him another shot despite a disappointing season. According to reports, the club is now seriously reconsidering its faith in the Dutchman and they could pull the plug on Koeman’s reign if the results don’t improve immediately.
Barcelona have won just once in their past four outings and the team has produced back-to-back miserable efforts against Bayern Munich and Granada.
Monday’s clash with the Andalusian side looked like a perfect bounce-back spot after Bayern ran riot at Camp Nou in a 3-0 win, but Barca needed a 90th-minute goal to even salvage a draw from the contest.
The team struggled to create chances against Granada and ended up simply lumping balls into the box. Barcelona finished the game with 54 crosses, which marks the club’s highest tally in a single league game since 2016.
Koeman has to figure out a way to get Memphis Depay more involved and he’ll need Philippe Coutinho to provide creativity from the middle of the park until the team gets back some of its big-hitters. Barcelona boasts a length injury list, which includes the likes of Ousmane Dembele and Sergio Agüero.
Cadiz have their own woes with just one point picked up from three home games, but they did get their first win of the season in the last round, which should lift the mood around the place. Alfonso Espino and Anthony Lozano scored in a 2-1 victory away to Celta Vigo.
Barca are going to run into a very defensive side with Cadiz having recorded by far the lowest ball possession numbers in the league this season. On average, they have registered only 27.9 percent of possession while every other club has managed at least 40 percent.
Granada ended up with only 23 percent of possession Monday night so it could be Groundhog Day here for Barcelona. If Koeman can’t find a way to break down the home side then there’s a strong chance that we’ll see a new man in charge come the weekend.
