Barcelona: Collado will get more chances than Puig, says Setién
Riqui Puig is one of Barcelona's most exciting young players but coach Quique Setién said his team-mate Álex Collado is likely to play more.
Barcelona supporters can expect to see more of young attacker Álex Collado but head coach Quique Setién admitted Riqui Puig's first-team chances could be limited this season.
Collado has made just one LaLiga appearance this term, playing for five minutes as a substitute in Barça's 2-0 defeat at Valencia in January, while Puig has played for 22 minutes across two cameos.
"Collado, playing up front, he's going to get chances"
The pair are seen as two of the club's brightest prospects as established players like Lionel Messi and Sergio Busquets enter the latter stages of their careers, and Setién indicated that Collado's ability to play as part of a front three means he is of more immediate use than central midfielder Puig.
"They are two very different kind of players," Setién told reporters. "We try to think which player we need most at certain times of the game. They're two very good players and they've both got chances to play. We're getting to know them better every day.
"We're seeing what they're capable of doing for us in every training session. It's a time of learning.
"With Riqui there are a lot of players in the position where he would normally play but Collado, playing up front, he's going to get chances. We'll have to see how things go."
Setién takes positives from Barcelona's midweek Copa defeat
Setién saw his players get knocked out of the Copa del Rey on Thursday, when they were beaten 1-0 by Athletic Bilbao.
As he prepared for Sunday's trip to face his former club Real Betis, he reflected on the positive aspects of that game and indicated he is hopeful of ending a three-game winless run on the road in LaLiga.
"It's about the dynamic of how this team has been playing away from home for some time," said Setieé. "The other day I thought we improved a lot but unfortunately the result didn't go our way.
"We need to try to take the good conclusions from that game and it's a question of getting back out onto the pitch, playing another game. There's not much time to dwell on your sorrows at this club. You need to be fresh and lucid.
"We've improved a lot. We're seeing continuity but the three points are important because we want to be chasing for the title until the end.
"It's time to ratify the improvement in the cup at a really difficult ground. We were hurt by losing the cup game but we've learned a lot from it."