Barcelona will clash heads with Espanyol at the Nou Camp on Wednesday night hoping to earn maximum points at their own backyard. The home team will head into this contest on the back of an emphatic 4-1 win over Villarreal in their last match. However, Barca find themselves all but out of the title race as they are sitting four points below Real Madrid with just four games remaining in this La Liga season.
Quique Setien will stick with his preferred 4-3-3 formation and might name an unchanged team for this highly anticipated Catalan derby.
4-3-3 Barcelona Predicted Lineup To Face Espanyol
Defence
Marc-André ter Stegen will play in goal for Barca despite failing to keep a clean sheet in each of his past three league starts. Gerard Pique will continue to feature alongside Clement Lenglet at the heart of Setien’s defence as they look to maintain a solid defensive shape versus Espanyol in midweek.
Nelson Semedo is a nailed-on starter at right-back while Jordi Alba looks to produce a productive display on the other side as the left-back. Both of them will focus on getting forward at every chance they can get so that they can create some decent openings in the final third.
Midfield
Setien might choose to go with a midfield comprised of Arturo Vidal, Sergio Busquets and Sergi Roberto following an impressive collective display from them versus Villarreal earlier this week. The talented trio needs to pass the ball well so that they can orchestrate some clear-cut chances for their teammates in the opposition half.
Ivan Rakitic and Riqui Puig will be available for selection on the bench and might come on to make an impact in the second half if required.
Attack
Antoine Griezmann will look to put in another productive display down the left flank while Lionel Messi tries to weave his magic on the right side of the Barca attack. Luis Suarez will once again get the responsibility to lead the charge down the middle. Setien has no reason to tweak his frontline after their excellent performance against Villarreal last night. Both Griezmann and Suarez scored in that game which would give them a lot of confidence heading into this midweek showdown at the Nou Camp.
Martin Braithwaite and Ansu Fati will have to settle for a spot on the bench but might be introduced as the impact substitutes if Setien decides to call upon their services.
