Barcelona make the trip to Elche to square off with the 18th positioned side at the Estadio Manuel Martínez Valero Stadium. Barcelona are placed third on the points table and will seek to cut short the 3 point deficit with Real Madrid.
Barcelona were made to toil hard for their victory against Cornella in the Copa del Rey as the match went into extra time. Ronald Koeman’s side were seemingly heading in the right direction but the Spanish Supercup defeat about a week ago has made things look shaky once again at Camp Nou.
Barcelona will be heading into this Primera Division fixture against Elche with several first-team players missing. The likes of Gerard Pique, Philippe Coutinho, Ansu Fati and Sergino Dest are all ruled out with injuries and will take no part in the proceedings altogether.
The Catalans will also be without the services of their star player, Lionel Messi, who is serving a red card suspension. Clement Lenglet and Sergio Busquets will have to be extremely cautious as they have amassed 4 yellow cards each. Here’s how the Cules are expected to take to the field on Sunday evening –
Barcelona Predicted Line-Up Against Elche
Barcelona Predicted Line-Up Against Elche
Defence
Marc Andre Ter Stegen will take command between the sticks for the Catalans after starting from the bench against Cornella in the Kings Cup fixture. Oscar Mingueza is expected to occupy the right-back slot with Sergino Dest being a doubt. Ronald Araujo and Clement Lenglet will be Ronald Koeman’s most likely centre back duo for this evening. Jordi Alba will occupy the left-back spot despite a disastrous outing against Athletic Bilbao last weekend.
Midfield
Frenkie De Jong will make his return to the starting eleven after sitting out for the cup tie midweek. Busquets will start in the heart of Barcelona’s midfield. The Spaniard is one of the most underrated players in Spain and his importance to this Barcelona setup cannot be put into words. Pedri, who has been a massive revelation this season, will complete the midfield trident. Pjanic and Puig will make up the numbers on the bench for the European heavyweights.
Attack
Antoine Griezmann will lead the Barcelona attack in the absence of Lionel Messi. The Frenchman has seemingly found his rhythm as he looks lethal upfront once again. Martin Braithwaite will occupy the number nine role. A goal or two will majorly boost the striker’s confidence and morale. Ousmane Dembele will start on the right flank and secure the last slot up for grabs in the line-up. Barcelona will be looking for some sort of inspiration upfront with Messi missing and it will be interesting to see how this trio fares on Sunday.
Predicted Line-Up
