Barcelona will travel to the Czech Republic to clash heads with Slavia Prague at the Sinobo Stadium hoping to take one step closer to securing qualification from their UEFA Champions League group. The Catalans are in an excellent run of form having emerged victorious in their past five matches on all fronts.
Ernesto Valverde will opt for a 4-3-3 formation and might make a few changes to his team for this European encounter at Prague.
4-3-3 Barcelona Predicted Lineup To Face Slavia Prague
Defence
Marc Andre ter Stegen will operate in between the sticks for the La Liga giants after keeping back to back clean sheets against Sevilla and Eibar respectively. Gerard Pique is expected to return to the first-team after he was suspended last weekend. The Spaniard will start alongside Clement Lenglet at the centre of the Barca backline as they look to keep the home side at bay on Wednesday night. The defensive duo will need to concentrate on putting in a solid defensive display at the back. Jean-Clair Todibo might be a part of Valverde’s bench in midweek.
Nelson Semedo will return to the starting XI as the right-back after he was rested against Eibar last weekend. Jordi Alba will lineup on the other side in the left-back position with the Spaniard expected to make some dangerous runs in the opposition half. Sergi Roberto is sidelined due to injury and won’t feature in this midweek clash away at Prague.
Midfield
The Catalan giants might choose to freshen their options up in midfield, so the talented midfield three of Frenkie de Jong, Arturo Vidal and Arthur Melo are likely going to get the nod to operate at the centre of the park. All three players will have to find a way to establish Barca’s dominance and create some decent goal-scoring opportunities for the front players.
Sergio Busquets will have to settle for a spot on the bench but might get a chance to make an impact if needed.
Attack
The free-flowing front three of Antoine Griezmann, Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi will continue to play together after their goal-scoring heroics against Eibar on Saturday. Messi will once again be Valverde’s best weapon going forward. All three forwards will fancy their chances of finding the back of the net versus Slavia Prague in midweek.
Both Ansu Fati and Carles Perez could be used as impact substitutes if Valverde calls upon their services.
