Barcelona will entertain Osasuna at the Nou Camp on Thursday night hoping to close the gap to Real Madrid at the top of the La Liga table with a victory at home. The Catalans are enjoying a three-game winning run in the league, so they will quietly be confident about their chances of securing all three points versus Jagoba Arrasate’s men later this week.
Quique Setien will revert to a 4-3-3 formation and might make a few tweaks to his first-team for this midweek clash at Catalonia.
4-3-3 Barcelona Predicted Lineup To Face Osasuna
Defence
Marc-André ter Stegen will lineup in goal for Barca after securing back to back clean sheets against Espanyol and Real Valladolid respectively. Gerard Pique could once again feature alongside Clement Lenglet at the heart of Setien’s defence as they focus on restricting Osasuna from finding the back of the net on Thursday.
Nelson Semedo will be a nailed-on starter at right-back while Jordi Alba tries to get forward using his pace and agility on the other side as the left-back. Both of them will have the freedom to link up with the attackers going forward.
Samuel Umtiti has missed the last few matches for the Catalan outfit due to a knee injury. He will be a significant concern ahead of this crucial league encounter in midweek.
Midfield
Setien might freshen things up by naming a midfield three of Riqui Puig, Sergio Busquets and Ivan Rakitic. The talented trio would try to work hard in establishing Barca’s dominance at the centre of the park so that they can create some clear-cut goal-scoring chances in the final third.
Arturo Vidal and Sergi Roberto will have to settle for a place on the bench as they await their opportunity to influence the game as the impact substitutes if Setien decides to call upon their services.
Attack
Ansu Fati will be back from suspension for this midweek clash. The promising youngster might get the chance to operate on the left flank as Antoine Griezmann is a slight doubt after picking up a minor muscle injury in his last outing. If the Frenchman can recover in time, then he could be named on the bench.
The significant chunk of the goal-scoring burden will once again fall on the shoulders of Lionel Messi, who would hope to weave his magic on the right side of the Barca frontline. Luis Suarez might get a start in midweek after he was rested last weekend. The Uruguayan striker will be desperate to get his name on the scoresheet when Osasuna visit the Nou Camp later this week.
