Barcelona make the trip to Andalusia on Matchday 18 of the Primera Divison to square off against Granada. Estadio Nuevo Los Cármenes will be the venue for this Saturday evening kick-off between the two La Liga sides.
Barcelona were victorious from their trip to Basque Country where they faced off against Atheltic Bilbao and will be wanting to continue their positive run of two games when they take on the 7th placed side on Saturday. Ronald Koeman’s ideas and methods seem to be working for the Cules who are on a five-game unbeaten run.
The Dutch gaffer will be a bit short on players with Ansu Fati, Gerard Pique, Sergi Roberto and Philippe Coutinho all out injured. Clement Lenglet also adds to the unavailable list with the Frenchman serving a suspension for amassing five yellow cards. Here’s how Barcelona are expected to take the field –
Defence
Marc Andre Ter Stegen will take command between the sticks for Barcelona at the Estadio Nuevo Los Cármenes on Saturday evening. The German goalie would be gutted after letting in two goals against Athletic Bilbao and will want to make amends for the same. Sergino Dest will occupy the right-back spot with Sergi Roberto out injured until the end of the month at least.
The young and versatile Ronald Araujo will occupy the centre back spot alongside Oscar Mingueza. It will be very interesting to see if Ronald Koeman continues to ignore Samuel Umtiti from the line-up even with his first choice centre back pairing missing. The left-back spot will be occupied by Jordi Alba who makes loads of runs down the left flank to support the attack.
Midfield
Frenkie de Jong will start in midfield after assisting the opening goal of the night for Pedri midweek. Frenkie has matured as a player and seems to have settled down to the Barcelona way of things. Sergio Busquets will retain his place in the side despite being a bit slow to the pace of the game last time around. The veteran midfielder is crucial to the side with the amount of experience he carries. The last spot in midfield will be occupied by the 18-year-old sensation, Pedri. The young Spaniard has become the life of the team as Pedri gets the game ticking with his splendid understanding with Messi. It will be interesting to see how Pedri fares in the weeks to come.
Attack
Ousmane Dembele will retain his place in the starting eleven with Barcelona seeking to cut down the points deficit on arch-rivals Real Madrid. The Frenchman will have to be bit sharper upfront, something which seemed lacking against Athletic Bilbao. Lionel Messi, who was right in the mix of things in midweek, will undoubtedly start for the Catalans. Messi is fundamental to this Barcelona team and that need not be mentioned. Antoine Griezmann will start down the left-hand side. The Frenchman has grown in his stride this season and has become more accustomed around Lionel Messi & Co, which is reflected in his performances.
Predicted Line-Up
