da winzada777： This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…
da bet sport： Barcelona are finally back in action this Tuesday night after having a weekend off due to El Clasico being postponed. But now they face Real Valladolid at the Camp Nou and Clement Lenglet, of all people, just might play a key part in that match-up.
On the chalkboard
Even though the Catalan giants are currently second in the table with a game in hand, things are not really that rosy at the Camp Nou.
The victory against Slavia Prague was far from an impressive feat and despite Blaugrana tallying all three points, that game showcased their biggest weakness of the ongoing season – their defence.
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Simply put, they are leaking far too many chances and shots to the opposition and sooner rather than later that will come back to haunt them.
And even though things have been slightly better in La Liga than in the Champions League, considering they are conceding 9.9 shots per game in the domestic competition as opposed to 16 in Europe, this is still a valid cause for concern.
Even more so since their defence will come up against Oscar Plano, one of Real Valladolid’s best performers so far and a player who has a keen eye for goal.
Defence vs attack
Despite their defensive hiccups, Lenglet has been quite impressive throughout the ongoing season.
Just recently, when Barcelona faced Eibar in La Liga, winning 3-0 in the process, the French centre-back was one of the best players on the pitch, tallying an assist along with a rather clean defensive display.
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But the Catalans will surely need him at his best when they face Real Valladolid at the Camp Nou.
Their backline needs to make a statement and it might just be up to Lenglet to be the man who’s going to step forward.
So far, he has tallied two tackles, 0.9 interceptions and three clearances per game in the ongoing 2019/20 La Liga campaign. Apart from that, he is not really easy to dribble past, considering that has only happened 0.4 times per game in the season.
But he’s facing an opponent who is very much keeping his team afloat.
Real Valladolid are currently sitting in ninth spot and they owe much of their success to Plano. With a rating of 6.96 according to Whoscored, the 28-year-old is their best performer so far in the season.
Not only that but with three goals and two assists already to his name, he’s also topping both of those categories at the very moment.
Seeing how he also tallied 1.5 shots and 1.1 key passes per game, it seems that he is extremely efficient and doesn’t need too many chances to make a clear impact.
It’s also pretty important to note that he has been fouled 2.1 times per game so far, which suggests that the opposition clearly have trouble containing him at times.
Lenglet, on the other hand, has made 1.3 fouls per game so it will be interesting to see who comes on top in this one.
One way or the other, Barcelona’s centre-back might have his hands full and the team’s success could depend on his performance.