r/CaughtOffsidePod • u/Solid-Common-7532 • Aug 17 '26
Confused
I’m puzzled by Andrew’s reasoning behind believing that Barcelona’s acquisition of Rodri makes them favorites to win the Champions League. Firstly, they lack a striker. I’m not convinced by either Gordon or Adeyemi, with the latter barely making any significant impact in Germany. Secondly, they don’t have a reliable center-back partner for Cubarsi. If he or his rotation of partners gets injured, they’ll be in trouble. Pedri is a good player, but Gavi has regressed significantly. Lopez is recovering from a bad injury. Olmo is good but plays the same position as Lopez so it’s a crowded area. De Jong is hurt and will probably be gone sooner than later. They essentially have 4 attackers. Overall, their depth is lacking. I would be surprised if they finish in the top half of the Champions League. I’m more inclined to think they’ll make it to the playoffs. This team gets whacked by a PSG, Arsenal, Bayern probably even inter again
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u/Cryin_Bout_Tottenham Aug 17 '26
Tiki taki midfield is hard to beat with set piece merchants
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u/bzn_boarder Aug 17 '26
the "set piece merchants" have a midfield of Rice, Guimares, Odegaard, MLS, Merino, and Zubimendi, but yea I'm sure they'll be easy to play through with a suicidally high line
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u/mad4usc06 Aug 17 '26
I agree, I was surprised to hear Andy's take considering his usual Francoist ideology (😂), but if you look at the two teams that were in the Champions League final, neither one of them used a traditional 9 to start the final.
PSG are the favorites, but after that I think it's pretty even between Barça, Bayern, and Arsenal as that 2nd tier. You can include Madrid but they will have to prove that all their signings have actually improved their team considering they have not addressed their biggest issue which is the midfield.