Barcelona will entertain Real Madrid at the Nou Camp on Sunday in what looks set to be a mouth-watering El Classico. The Catalans come into this league clash in great form after seeing off the challenge of Inter Milan in the UEFA Champions League. However, an injury to Lionel Messi has somewhat curbed their enthusiasm a little and now, Ernesto Valverde needs to pick a worthy replacement up top who could share some of the goal-scoring burdens alongside Luis Suarez and Phillipe Coutinho.
It is expected that Barca will line up in a 4-3-3 formation with Valverde bringing Ousmane Dembele in for Rafinha.
4-3-3 Barcelona Predicted Lineup To Face Real Madrid
Defence
Marc Andre ter Stegen will start in goal for the Blaugrana while Jasper Cillessen has to settle for a place on Valverde’s bench. Samuel Umtiti is currently out with an injury so Clement Lenglet would retain his position alongside Gerard Pique at the heart of the Barca defence. Sergi Roberto is expected to feature as the right-back after playing the full 90 minutes against Inter Milan in midweek. Jordi Alba would hope to use his blistering pace once again down the left channel to try and push Gareth Bale back as much as possible.
The Catalans will be coming up against a struggling Madrid side who narrowly beat Viktoria Plzen in midweek. Los Blancos boss, Julen Lopetegui is a man under a lot of pressure, and Barca can surely heap even more misery on him if they can stop the Galacticos from scoring on Sunday.
Midfield
Valverde could opt to stick with the midfield trio of Arthur Melo, Sergio Busquets and Ivan Rakitic following their eye-catching performances versus Sevilla and Inter Milan respectively.
Rakitic registered his name on the scoresheet in the league last weekend and also scored with a breath-taking volley against Tottenham Hotspur earlier this month. We can expect him to be a significant goal-threat from midfield while Arthur and Busquets sit deep and protects the Barca backline.
Attack
Lionel Messi has been ruled out of this match after he fractured his right arm in the previous gameweek. This could mean a start for Ousmane Dembele after he was rested in midweek. Luis Suarez and Phillipe Coutinho should resume their duties in the attacking third as they look to score against a poor Madrid side who have failed to keep a clean sheet in any of their previous four matches across all competitions.
There is no doubt that Messi’s injury would be a massive blow for the Blaugrana, so the likes of Suarez and Coutinho needs to step up and deliver some goals on Sunday.
