Champions League 2018/19 Tactical Preview: Barcelona vs Liverpool

“The final before the final”, as most would call it, between Barcelona and Liverpool in the Champions League takes places tonight at the Camp Nou, in the heart of Catalunya. This tactical analysis preview will try to decipher how things could play out when these two giants of the footballing world meet, and make a bold prediction at the end.

Looking back a bit at the previous meetings between the two, neither team really has a clear advantage over the other. Back in the 70s, the tandem met twice, once in March and once in April of 1976 with the earlier encounter went into the Reds’ favour, and the latter ending in a 1-1 stalemate.

Stepping into the new century and into modern football, the Reds have accumulated two victories, one in 2001 in the UEFA Cup, and then one in 2007 in the Champions League at this very stadium.

Barcelona also have two to their name, and interestingly enough, both happened in the same years as Liverpool’s victories: one in 2001 and the other in 2007. The matches in 2002 and in April of 2001 ended as draws, one in the Champions League and one in the UEFA Cup. But this is not the only thing connecting these two teams.

Both are very dominant this season in their domestic campaigns as Barcelona have already clinched the La Liga title, and Liverpool are guaranteed to finish at least second but still have a very real chance of winning the Premier League themselves over Manchester City. The Champions League has been a very similar story with both teams arriving where they are now in a rather convincing manner.

Barcelona dispatched Manchester United with 4-0 on aggregate while Liverpool made quick work of Porto, smashing them 6-1 over two legs. Their form cannot be questioned as both teams arrive at the Champions League semi-finals with an almost flawless streak, Barcelona having won five out of their previous six games, only drawing one while Liverpool won all six to make it even more impressive.

But what might be the single most interesting thing in this tie is the style that both teams seem to share on the pitch. This tactical analysis preview will be aiming to look a bit deeper into the statistics and the tactics behind the masterminds that are Ernesto Valverde and Jürgen Klopp.

Team news

Barcelona

The Catalan squad is as ready as they can be for one of the most important clashes of their season. The only injury concern is the one of Rafinha Alcântara but the Brazilian was never really a big option for Ernesto Valverde. The rest of the team, however, is at his disposal as they have been both rested and kept safe throughout the last week.

All the big guns have been called up for the game and we can expect a full-power Barcelona to enter the pitch in front of their home crowd. The other good news is that the previously injured Ousmane Dembélé has had enough time to get back into the rhythm of things as has the reserve goalie, Jasper Cillessen, who, however, hasn’t seen any game time since Copa del Rey but is also not expected to feature.

Still, the most important pieces, especially Lionel Messi, have been well-preserved and will definitely be seen tonight at the Camp Nou.

Barcelona squad for Liverpool: Ter Stegen, N. Semedo, Piqué, I. Rakitić, Sergio, Coutinho, Arthur, Suárez, Messi, O. Dembélé, Cillessen, Malcom, Lenglet, Jordi Alba, S. Roberto, Vidal, Umtiti, Aleñá.

Liverpool

The away team was not as lucky in terms of neither having as much rest time nor having any luck with injuries. Even though Klopp did call up his gala squad to Catalunya, there are still questions that need answering regarding his lineup.

Two serious question marks are still looming above the German’s head: Roberto Firmino and Virgil van Dijk but both are almost guaranteed to at least participate in the clash. The forward might not start the match but is definitely in the run to do so, as Klopp has confirmed yesterday himself.

“It looked good so far, he began. But until tomorrow I have to make that decision – after lunchtime tomorrow. That’s what I will do.”

Now, we know for certain that Adam Lallana has a muscular problem that will see him sidelined but Fabinho, who suffered a head injury, and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who returned after a year out, will indeed be ready and at Klopp’s disposal. The same can be said for van Dijk, who was reportedly having some knee problems but nothing serious enough to keep him away from Barcelona.

With all that in mind, we can expect that Liverpool will arrive at the Camp Nou with almost their full forces available and only some minor trouble along the way.

Liverpool squad for Barcelona: Fabinho, Van Dijk, Wijnaldum, Lovren, Milner, Keita, Firmino, Mané, Salah, Gomez, Alisson, Henderson, Sturridge, Moreno, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Mignolet, Shaqiri, Brewster, Robertson, Origi, Matip, Kelleher, Alexander-Arnold.

Like looking in a mirror

What makes this clash of the titans even more interesting than it already is, is the fact that Barcelona and Liverpool do have a lot of things in common when it comes to their playing style and philosophy. Even though on the face of it, they are vastly different teams that draw their strengths from different sources, they do mirror each other in quite a few aspects.

Without a shadow of a doubt, this game will be either won or lost for both teams depending on how well they apply pressure and how well they cope with it. And this is primarily Barcelona’s axe to grind as the Catalans have probably not faced a press as intense and effective as that of Liverpool.

Notice in the image above how well-organised their troops are when pressing their opponent and how successful they are in pinning them down and stripping them off all options. Huddersfield are forced to pass back to their backline since all the close options and the forward ones are blocked and the channels closed.

What’s even more impressive is how this setup basically gives them options for a swift transition once the possession has been regained in a rather dangerous zone. Notice below how Mané is already closing down the only real option their opponents have and all three of their forwards work tremendously well to get to the ball.