Barcelona look to rebound from a bad loss in the Champions League away to Chelsea as they play a second straight La Liga game back at the new Camp Nou against Deportivo Alavés.
The Blaugrana need a good performance and three points in convincing fashion after the disaster in midweek, and will be favorites against an Alavés side sitting in mid-table but ready to cause a big upset against a vulnerable Barça.
Here’s how we think Hansi Flick will line up his troops for Saturday’s battle:
Defense
Barça are coming off a game in which they played the final 45 mintues with 10 men and have a monster game against Atlético Madrid coming up on Tuesday, so it’s possible that we’ll see some rotation in this one.
The backline could see the bulk of the changes after an awful defensive performance in London, and Flick might finally give Andreas Christensen a chance to start in this one, possibly alongside Eric Garcia to give Pau Cubarsí a rest and keep Ronald Araujo away from the limelight for a bit.
Gerard Martín could start at left-back to replace Alejandro Balde, and Jules Kounde will likely stay at right-back despite not playing well at all this season.
Midfield
Barça got some bad news from training in the week as Fermín López will miss a couple of weeks with a calf issue, but there’s some great news as Pedri is expected back in the squad after a month away with a hamstring injury. We don’t expect The Wizard back as a starter just yet, which would mean a double pivot of Marc Casadó and Frenkie de Jong with Dani Olmo in the number 10 role for this one.
Attack
Ferran Torres is another one who might benefit from a game on the bench after the heavy criticism he received for his nightmare at Chelsea, so we think Robert Lewandowski will lead the line and Marcus Rashford will start on the left to make sure Raphinha gets some more minutes off the bench and is fully fit to start against Atlético. Lamine Yamal will retain his spot on the right, looking to bounce back from a quiet night at Stamford Bridge.
Possible XI: Joan; Kounde, Eric, Christensen, Martín; Casadó, De Jong; Yamal, Olmo, Rashford; Lewandowski (4-2-3-1)
How do you think Barcelona should line up against Alavés? Let us know your thoughts, predictions and teams in the comments below!
