Barcelona manager Luis Enrique has stated his faith in misfiring young forwards Munir El Haddadi and Sandro as his team attempt to get their away form back on track at Getafe on Saturday night.
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The 20-year-olds have been pressed into service to replace Lionel Messi, who has been out of action for a month with a knee injury and faces at least three more weeks on the sidelines.
But the homegrown duo have been peripheral presences, with neither managing to score a single goal despite a combined total of more than fifteen hours playing time this season.
They have also struggled to link up consistently with fellow forwards Luis Suarez and Neymar, although Sandro did lay on the opener for Suarez in last weekend’s win over Eibar after Munir teed up the Uruguayan for a winner against Las Palmas.
Enrique claims to be unconcerned by Munir and Sandro’s lack of goalscoring prowess, saying: “It doesn’t worry me. The minutes they’re getting is allowing them to grow, and they have been participating in our goals.”
He also believes the expectations accompanying a starting place, rather than their previous appearances from the bench toward the end of games which had already been won, is contributing to the lack of output from Sandro and Munir.
“Playing with or without pressure are very different things,” he reasoned. “It’s not the same when you play because you have to play. But I am happy with them, although they can both improve.”
Enrique has the opportunity to leave out both Munir and Sandro tonight thanks to the return to fitness of midfielders Andres Iniesta and Sergi Roberto. And after seeing his team lose their last two league games away from the Nou Camp – 4-1 at Celta Vigo and 2-1 against Sevilla – Enrique could use the returning duo to switch to a 4-4-2 formation.
In that system, Iniesta and Roberto could line up in wide positions alongside a central duo of Sergio Busquets and Ivan Rakitic, while red-hot Suarez and Neymar would be paired together in attack.
Since Messi’s been injured, Munir & Sandro have rotated as third attacker. Munir away, Sandro home – as @EduPolo points out.
— Dermot Corrigan (@dermotmcorrigan) October 25, 2015
The Barca boss did not rule out pursuing that option but remained typically evasive about his plans, only saying: “For every game I consider lots of things – playing with two, three or four strikers, with one defensive midfielder or two, changing the system…they could all help the team.”
However, he did insist that he would be happy to throw Iniesta and Roberto straight back into the starting line-up, adding: “If they are in the squad, it means they are ready to play.
“They haven’t been out for long but they will have lost some of their competitive rhythm.”
Getafe manager Fran Escriba, who is set to welcome back Barcelona-born forward Alvaro Vazquez after injury, has warned his team that the form of Neymar and Suarez means that Messi’s absence will not make it any easier to contain Barca.
Escriba joked: “It’s a shame that Messi won’t play because of injury – I’d prefer him to be out because of constipation! Neymar has become an even more important player and has taken on more attacking responsibility, but we are focussing on the collective rather than individuals.”
But he believes Getafe should take confidence from Barca’s recent problems on the road, adding: “We have to brave and attack them when we have possession.”
