Barcelona will lock horns with Athletic Bilbao at the San Mames Stadium on Wednesday night hoping to pick up another three points on the road. The Catalan giants are unbeaten in their last six matches across all competitions and will come into this contest after earning a hard-fought 1-0 win over Huesca last weekend.
Ronald Koeman will opt for a 4-3-3 formation and might be inclined to make a couple of tweaks to his side for this league encounter away at Bilbao. Antoine Griezmann and Miralem Pjamic could get a start while both Ousmane Dembele and Sergio Busquets drops to the bench.
4-3-3 Barcelona Predicted Lineup To Face Athletic Bilbao
Defence
Marc-André ter Stegen will function in goal for Barca after he managed to secure a clean sheet versus Huesca in his last league start. Ronald Araujo will continue to play alongside Clement Lenglet at the heart of Koeman’s defence as they try to keep things tidy at the back in midweek.
Sergiño Dest will be a nailed-on starter at right-back while Jordi Alba looks to put on a good show on the other side as the left-back. Both of them will have to figure out ways to influence the game in the opposition half while also maintaining a solid shape in defence.
Oscar Mingueza will offer cover for the centre-back positions on the bench.
Midfield
Koeman could choose to go with a midfield comprised of Pedri, Frenkie de Jong and Miralem Pjanic against Athletic Bilbao. All three players will focus on dominating the ball and winning the battle at the centre of the park. De Jong managed to get his name on the scoresheet last weekend, which will give him a confidence boost ahead of this midweek clash in the Basque Country.
Sergio Busquets could be offered some well-deserved rest on the bench but might come on to make an impact in the second 45 minutes if required.
Attack
Antoine Griezmann is expected to get a start on the left flank as Koeman looks to hand Ousmane Dembele some rest on the bench because of the French speedster’s poor injury record. Lionel Messi will hope to weave his magic from the right-wing while Martin Braithwaite once again spearheads the Barca attack down the middle.
