After Bernard and Cassado come back, Barcelona s 4-3-3 formation opportunities and hidden worries

Barcelona's current midfielder is Pedri, De Jong and Ormo. With the comeback of Bernard and Cassado, who will play in order to strengthen defense?

Pedri

Pedri

Pedri is Barcelona's extremely talented midfielder. He has comprehensive skills, excellent dribbling and passing skills, and has a significant role in offensive organization and propulsion. He has shown a more mature and game reading ability than ordinary people at a young age. He is one of the cores of the team's future and is difficult to be excluded from the main lineup.

De Jong

De Jong has excellent ball control and passing skills, can control the rhythm of the game in the midfield, provide guarantee for the team's offensive sorting, and also makes certain contributions on the defensive end. His tactical position in Barcelona's midfield is important and he is a key figure in the team's midfield. He will generally continue to serve as the main force.

Olmo

Olmo is also a capable player with good offensive ability and creativity, but compared with Pedri and De Jong, he may have contributed relatively little on the defensive end. After Bernard and Cassado returned, the team had more personnel reserves in defensive midfielders. In order to strengthen defense, the coach may choose a more defensive player combination in some games, which may affect Olmo's playing time and face the challenge of competing for the main position.

However, the final main lineup arrangement must be determined based on the opponent's situation, player status, injury status, and the coach's tactical intentions. In different games, the three players may get the main opportunity based on actual conditions.

After Bernal and Cassado come back, Barcelona is likely to use the 4-3-3 formation. What impact and harm does this have on Barcelona?

Personnel configuration adaptation: 4 - 3 - 3 formation requires midfielders to have comprehensive abilities, including defensive interception, offensive organization and ball-handling ability. The return of Bernard and Cassado has strengthened the defensive hardness of the midfield. They can match players with strong offensive organizational capabilities such as Pedri and De Jong to form complementary, so that the midfield can perform well on both defense and offensive ends.

High tactical flexibility: In the 4-3-3 formation, three midfielders can flexibly adjust their tactics according to their opponent's situation and game needs. For example, when facing offensive opponents, Bernard and Cassado can undertake more defensive tasks and protect the back line, while Pedri, De Jong and others participate in assisting defense during defense, and find counterattack opportunities through ball control and organization during offense. When facing a ball-controlled opponent, the three midfielders can cooperate with each other to strengthen ball control and compete for the initiative in the game.

conforms to the team tradition: Barcelona has a tradition of using 4-3-3 formations, and the team has achieved many brilliant achievements under this formation. This formation is conducive to the team's characteristics of passing and controlling football, and creates threatening offensive opportunities through the layer-by-layer advancement of midfielders and the forward running. The return of Bernard and Cassado has given the team more conditions to use the traditional 4-3-3 formation in terms of personnel, which will help the team continue the style of passing and controlling football.

Positively affect

Enhanced midfield defense: In the 4-3-3 formation, the three midfielders need to undertake certain defensive tasks. Bernal and Cassado have strong defensive abilities. After returning, they can form a more defensive midfield combination with Pedri, De Jong and others. When facing opponents with strong offensive abilities, they can better protect the defense line and reduce the opponent's offensive opportunities.

Improve offensive fluency: This formation focuses on the cooperation between midfielders and forwards. The sharing of Bernal and Cassado on the defensive end allows players with excellent offensive organizational abilities such as Pedri and De Jong to focus more on offense. Through tacit cooperation with the forwards, the team's offense can improve the fluency and efficiency of the team's offense and create more threatening offensive opportunities.

Rich tactical choices: The coach can flexibly adjust the positions and responsibilities of the three midfielders according to the opponent's characteristics and game situation. For example, when facing a defensive counterattack team, Bernal and Cassado can make more defensive interceptions, and Pedri and De Jong are responsible for the offensive organization; when facing a ball-controlled opponent, the three can strengthen midfield ball control and break the opponent's defense through short pass penetration, enriching the team's tactical choices.

Potential Challenge

Player Run-in Problem: After Bernard and Cassado come back, it will take time to re-exercise with other players. Especially in the 4-3-3 formation, the cooperation between midfielders, midfielders and defenders and forwards requires a high degree of tacit understanding. If the running-in is not done well, there may be defensive loopholes or poor offensive coordination during the game.

The physical energy consumption is large: 4 - 3 - 3 formation requires midfielders to have strong physical fitness, actively return to defense when defending, and participate in the frontcourt organization when attacking. After Bernal and Cassado return from injury, their physical condition may need to be gradually recovered. If the formation is frequently used in the absence of physical reserves, it may lead to a decline in the players' physical fitness in the second half of the game, affecting the team's overall performance.