When Barcelona takes on Granada at Los Carmenes on Sunday evening, they will be hoping to win in order to cut the distance between themselves and the first place team in the La Liga standings.
The Blaugrana are now in third place in the standings, which places them two points behind Girona for second place and four points behind Real Madrid for first place.
Even though there is no way for Barca to catch up to their fiercest competitors before the international break, they will still try their best to keep the gap as small as possible in advance of the Clasico that will take place later this month.
Xavi Hernandez and the rest of the Granada squad will face off against an opponent that has not gotten off to the best possible start to the season. Even though they are now in 19th place and fighting relegation, Paco Lopez’s team may still make things difficult for the team that won last season’s championship.
Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, Frenkie de Jong, and Pedri are all ruled out of the match for Barcelona due to injuries, so the Catalan club will have to play with a depleted lineup.
The starting eleven that competed against FC Porto earlier in the week could see a few changes for the match against Granada. Here is how Barcelona could line up in the match against Granada.
To begin with
Marc-Andre ter Stegen will undoubtedly get the nod in goal for Barcelona and will be looking to make it three wins in a row without allowing a goal across all competitions.
Since joining the team on the transfer deadline, Joao Cancelo has established himself as a mainstay at right back, and there is little reason to believe that will change against Granada. On the other side of the defense, Alejandro Balde should get the nod to start.
Jules Kounde, who has been Barcelona’s finest defender so far this year, ought to receive the start in defense for the Catalan club on Sunday evening. After having considerable exhaustion toward the end of the game against Porto, Ronald Araujo might be given some time off to rest after the game. It is very likely that Andreas Christensen will take his place.
Because Barcelona is quite likely to dominate possession and proceedings at Los Carmenes, Xavi might decide to entirely remove Oriol Romeu from the starting XI and replace him with another player.
As the point of pivot, Gundogan? (Image by PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA/AFP and made available through Getty Images)
Ilkay Gundogan would start for the winners of La Liga as the central midfielder who occupies the deepest position of the three central midfielders.
Fermin Lopez might be given his first-ever start for Barcelona, with his creativity and ability to shoot from a distance sure to come in handy. Gavi will take one of the two slots available inside the midfield, while the other will go to the other interior midfielder.
In the assault, Xavi does not have a lot of room to maneuver because Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha are not available. After scoring the game-winning goal against Porto, it is anticipated that Ferran Torres will start at No. 9 for Barcelona in their matchup against Granada.
Lamine Yamal has made a full recovery from his illness and will return to his customary position on the right flank, while Joao Felix will continue to play on the left side of the field.
The city of Barcelona Ter Stegen, Cancelo, Kounde, Christensen, Balde, Fermin, Gundogan, Gavi, Yamal, Ferran, and Joao Felix are the players that are expected to start for the team.
Alternate Terms for
If Barcelona already have the match won, Xavi might substitute players like Inigo Martinez and Marcos Alonso in the last minutes of play.
If the Barcelona manager wants to rest one of his midfielders or Joao Cancelo at right back, Sergi Roberto might be an alternative for him to play in that position instead of Joao Cancelo.
Against Granada, there is a possibility that either Pau Victor or Marc Guiu will make their debut with the first squad. There is also a possibility that both of them will do so.