Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola has revealed that he will be utilising more of a squad in the coming weeks in order to cope with the demands of playing in the European competition and the domestic league.
Barcelona have just made it into the semifinals of the Champions League after beating AC Milan 3-1 at the Camp Nou. It was a win that has set up a match against Chelsea in the semifinals, which will be a repeat of the match the two clubs played each other in the 2008-09 season. This match often marked the beginning of the success for Barcelona, as they have won 13 out of the 16 possible trophies since then.
Barcelona manager Guardiola has often resisted rotating the squad, but he is now going to be forced into rotating his squad ahead of the match with Real Zaragoza during the weekend. They will be looking to keep up with the leaders Real Madrid, who have also qualified for the semifinals of the Champions League.
With the El Clasico between the two clubs only a few weeks away, Barcelona will be looking to close the gap as soon as possible. Many expect Barcelona to win the El Clasico, which will take place at the Camp Nou.
“All I can ask is that they are not at their best on the day and we all go out and compete and let people see that the team gives everything it has. It is clear that coaches want to use their entire squad, but Barcelona are a team that have no problems rotating their team because of the resources they have,” Manolo Jimenez said in the press conference just ahead of the match. Real Madrid have a tough match against Valencia, and will not be playing until Monday.