Barcelona vs Cadiz

Reigning La Liga champions Barcelona welcome Cadiz to their new home in Montjuic on Sunday evening.

Xavi Hernandez’s side began their defence of the title with a chaotic 0-0 draw away to Getafe last weekend. Four red cards were shown, 31 fouls were committed and 26 minutes of time was added on but Barcelona could not score.

Cadiz also had a man sent off but managed to cling on to Fede San Emeterio’s seventh-minute opener to secure an opening-weekend win over Alaves.

Here’s everything you need to know about Barcelona‘s start to life at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys.

Barcelona vs Cadiz H2H record (Last Five Games)

Current form (Last Five Games)

An untimely hamstring injury for Ronald Araujo has exacerbated an area of weakness in Xavi’s squad. The Uruguayan centre-back lined up against Getafe on the right side of defence in the absence of any natural full-backs. With Araujo potentially sidelined for a month, Xavi has a considerable selection headache.

Manchester City’s Joao Cancelo and Real Valladolid’s Ivan Fresneda have both been heavily linked with Barcelona but in the immediate future of Sunday’s game, Xavi will have to look within his squad. Versatile club captain Sergi Roberto is arguably the most likely stop-gap.

Centre-back Inigo Martinez has returned to training but is still not officially registered with the club, clouding any potential involvement.

Raphinha will definitely be sidelined after receiving a straight red card for elbowing Getafe’s Gaston Alvarez out of pure frustration. Ez Abde could be drafted in as the fleet-footed Brazilian’s replacement.

Barcelona predicted lineup (4-3-3): Ter Stegen; Roberto, Kounde, Christensen, Balde; De Jong, Romeu, Pedri; Abde, Lewandowski, Gavi

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Cadiz’s joint-top scorer last season Gonzalo Escalante lasted barely 15 minutes before he was shown a red card for an outrageously high challenge – more decapitation than defending – in the dying embers of Cadiz’s narrow 1-0 victory over Alaves on Monday night.

Manager Sergio will also be without Victor Chust (thigh) and Juan Cala (meniscus) until the end of August at the earliest. Brian Ocampo is still recovering from a cruciate ligament injury while Sergi Guardiola nurses a groin issue.

Cadiz predicted lineup (4-4-2): Ledesma; Carcelen, L Hernandez, Fali, J Hernandez; Alejo, Alcaraz, Emeterio, Machis; Ramos, Roger

After an infuriating stalemate against a Getafe side that were set up in a well-drilled rearguard, Xavi reflected: “At 0-0 they’re comfortable; they waste time, they interrupt the game. That’s their way of competing.”

Cadiz are not quite as unashamedly obdurate as Getafe but they will certainly arrive in Barcelona with a focus on containment rather than creation.

The question, then, is whether Xavi’s side can pick their way through the blockade of yellow shirts. Theoretically, the league champions should have enough quality to pierce Cadiz’s resolve but the club’s first home game away from Camp Nou since 1957 will not be easy.

Prediction: Barcelona 2-0 Cadiz