Barcelona will lock horns with Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium this Thursday night as they try to pick up a good result in the Copa del Rey. Barca suffered a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Almeria recently, so they will be desperate to put in a much-improved display against Los Blancos in the Clasico later this week.
Xavi will probably opt for a 4-3-3 formation and could make a few changes to his starting XI for this game. Raphinha and Ronald Araujo will get a chance to play from the start in this cup clash on the road.
4-3-3 Barcelona Predicted Lineup To Face Real Madrid
Defence
Marc-André ter Stegen will operate in between the sticks for Barca after shipping in one goal in his last outing. Ronald Araujo could get a chance to impress alongside Andreas Christensen at the heart of Xavi’s defence as they try to keep things solid at the back during the 90 minutes.
Sergi Roberto will get the nod to impress as the right-back while Jordi Alba hopes to give a good account of himself on the other flank as the left-back. Both of them need to defend their lines well and make some decent runs with the ball out on the wide areas.
Marcos Alonso will offer cover for the defensive positions on the bench.
Midfield
Frenkie de Jong, Sergio Busquets and Franck Kessie will make up Barca’s midfield as they try to dominate possession at the centre of the park and engineer some clear-cut chances to win this Clasico.
Pablo Torre will have to settle for a spot on the bench and might come on to influence the game in the second 45 minutes if Xavi opts to call upon his services.
Attack
Gavi will try to put in an influential performance on the left wing while Raphinha hopes to put his pace to good use from the right. Xavi will instruct both of them to stretch the Real Madrid backline and deliver some decent service into their penalty box.
Ferran Torres could get a chance to impress as a centre-forward up top in the injury absence of Robert Lewandowski, who is currently sidelined because of a hamstring problem.
Angel Alarcon will be available for selection on the bench as he waits for his chance to shine in the latter stages of the game if Barca are in need of a goal by then.
