Barcelona seem to have left behind their pre-season woes and have started their campaign in the Spanish La Liga in the best possible way, having won all their matches so far this season. Their last one was 5-0 thumping of Espanyol, which is evident of the kind of form they are in. The Blaugrana will look to continue their good run in the future and are also eyeing redemption in the Champions League this term, after getting knocked out from the quarter final stage in the last two seasons of the competition.
The former Spanish champions had a torrid time this summer, as they were beaten by their arch rivals Real Madrid at the very start of the season in the Spanish Super Cup. They also faced a real bad time in the transfer window as they had to let go of one of their best players of all time in the form of the Brazilian superstar Neymar who went on to join the French Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint Germain on a world record transfer deal.
They also had to accept defeat in their pursuit of the Liverpool star Phillipe Coutinho after a series of bids were rejected by the Merseyside club who put up a “Not for Sale” sign on their prized possession.
However, the Catalan club seems to have found the winning touch once again and have started to get their act together with the inclusion of the young French forward Ousmane Dembele from the German club Borussia Dortmund. They have also brought in Portuguese defender Nelson Semedo and Brazilian midfielder Paulinho into the side looking to strengthen their squad for the forthcoming challenges in the domestic as well as European competitions.
They start their Champions League campaign with a sensational game where they face Italian champions Juventus at home, in the first game of the group stage. They are expected to field their strongest lineup which might look something like this:
Defence-
The Barcelona back line is inclusive of a number of good players in the form of full backs Sergi Roberto and Jordi Alba along with Gerard Pique and Samuel Umtiti at the heart of their defence, who will look to prove their dominance over the rival attackers and keep them at bay in the forthcoming Champions League campaign. However, there is a possibility that Sergi Roberto might be replaced by Nelson Semedo.
Midfield-
The Catalan giants have some of the best midfielders in Europe at their disposal, who have been making it easier for them to show their dominance over the opponents. With Ivan Rakitic, Sergio Busquets and Andres Iniesta, the Blaugrana midfield claims to take on any challenge that comes their way in the European competition.
Attack-
With arguably the best player in the world Lionel Messi spearheading their attack, along with Ousmane Dembele and Luis Suarez on his either side, Barcelona can boast of the most formidable attacking line-up in the Champions League and is prepared for redemption.
Predicted line-up-
Ter Stegen, Semedo, Pique, Umtiti, Alba, Rakitic, Busquets, Iniesta, Dembele, Suarez, Messi.
