Barcelona will be locking horns with Real Valladolid on their return from the International Break. The two teams are scheduled to play on Monday evening at the Camp Nou Stadium on Matchday 29 of the Primera Division. When these two teams last met, Barcelona emerged victorious by a three-goal margin.
Ronald Koeman will have one final chance on Monday evening to fix the jigsaw puzzle before he takes another attempt at defeating Real Madrid in the El Clasico next weekend. The manager was completely outclassed by Zidane & Company last time around and will want to avenge that defeat.
Barcelona will be heading into this fixture with a handful of names missing. Moussa Wague, Gerard Pique, Philippe Coutinho, Neto and Ansu Fati, will not be a part of the proceedings at the Camp Nou Stadium on Monday evening. Here’s how Barcelona could take to the field against 16th placed Real Valladolid –
Barcelona Predicted Line-Up Against Real Valladolid
Barcelona Predicted Line-Up Against Real Valladolid
Defence
Marc Andre Ter Stegen will be taking command between the sticks for Barcelona on Monday evening. Ter Stegen had an international break to forget as Germany struggled against Macedonia and lost by 2-1. The goalie would be eyeing another clean-sheet when he takes to the field at the Camp Nou Stadium. Oscar Mingueza will be starting on the right-hand side of the three-man defence. Ronald Araujo will take centre stage and Clement Lenglet will be to his left-hand side. This new formation has delivered the results for Barcelona and the Catalans are unbeaten in La Liga since the turn of the year.
Midfield
Pedri and Busquets will be taking command of things in the centre of the pitch. The duo has shown great chemistry since being put to test by Koeman this season. It will be vital for these two midfielders to take charge of things if Barcelona are to dictate terms in the match. Jordi Alba and Sergino Dest will be playing as wing-backs as they have done in the past two months or so. It remains to be seen if Barcelona will be deploying a similar formation against Real Madrid in the El Clasico as well.
Attack
Lionel Messi will be starting on the right-hand side of the attack. The Argentine has been lethal in front of the goal this season and is rightfully leading the top goalscorers chart with 23 goals to his credit. Ousmane Dembele will have another chance upfront after a tame looking performance in the international break. Fellow Frenchman, Griezmann will be starting to the left of Dembele. It would be interesting to see Martin Braithwaite and Francisco Trincao later on in the game.
Barcelona Predicted Line-Up Against Real Valladolid
