Barcelona will entertain Villarreal at the Nou Camp this Saturday as they look to secure a victory at home in La Liga. The Catalan club suffered a 4-2 defeat away at Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey recently, so they would be eager to bounce back with a positive result this weekend.
Xavi will opt for the 4-3-3 formation and is expected to make one change to his first XI for this game. Pau Cubarsi could get a chance to play from the start of this match while Andreas Christensen gets a rest on the bench.
4-3-3 Barcelona Predicted Lineup To Face Villarreal
Defence
Inaki Pena will feature in between the sticks for the Catalan club after shipping in four goals in his last appearance. Pau Cubarsi will get an opportunity to impress alongside Ronald Araujo at the centre of the Barcelona defence as they try to keep the opposition attackers frustrated throughout the 90 minutes.
Jules Kounde will once again try to impress as the right-back. Alejandro Balde is a major doubt for this game after he suffered a knock versus Bilbao recently. He might recover in time to function at left-back.
Andreas Christensen and Joao Cancelo will offer cover for the defensive positions on the bench.
Midfield
Ilkay Gundogan, Pedri and Frenkie de Jong will make up Xavi’s midfield three. Their main job would be to move the ball and engineer some clear-cut chances in the attacking end of the field.
Sergi Roberto and Oriol Romeu will have to be content with a spot on the bench as they wait for their chance to make an impact in the second half if needed.
Attack
Ferran Torres will try to catch the eye on the left flank while Lacine Yamal hopes to prove his worth as the right-sided winger. Both of them would be instructed to stretch the opponent’s backline at every chance they get.
Robert Lewandowski will lead the charge for the Catalan club in the final third. The Polish talent would be eager to threaten the Villarreal goal this Saturday evening.
Joao Felix will be named on the bench and might come on to influence the game in the final quarter if required.
