Following their defeat to Arsenal in their first pre-season friendly, FC Barcelona will be aiming to bounce back strongly when they take on arch-rivals Real Madrid later tonight at the AT&T Stadium in Texas.
Barcelona looked scratchy and off-pace in large parts against Arsenal, although it must be remembered that it was only their first game of the pre-season, and a large contingent of the squad had just recovered from a stomach bug.
Real Madrid, meanwhile, come into the game in better shape than Barça, having picked up two wins in two games against AC Milan and Manchester United.
It goes without saying that Xavi Hernandez & co. will be intent on getting one over their eternal rivals, even if it is only a pre-season encounter. The Blaugrana will also be boosted by the return to training of Gavi, who missed the Arsenal game due to a back issue.
Ahead of the pre-season El Clasico, here’s how Barcelona could line up against Real Madrid later tonight in Dallas.
Starters
Marc-Andre ter Stegen has enjoyed a terrific year for Barcelona and should start between the sticks for the La Liga champions tonight. With Sergi Roberto unlikely to play, the German international could captain the team against Real Madrid.
Xavi has often fielded Ronald Araujo on the right side of the defence when Barça face Real Madrid in recent times to tackle the threat of Vinicius Jr. And even though the Brazilian could play a bit more centrally, the Uruguayan is likely to slot in at right-back again tonight.
Alejandro Balde was one of the Blaugrana’s best players in the defeat to Arsenal and should start at left-back, with Andreas Christensen and Jules Kounde featuring as the two centre-halves.
Xavi did not hesitate in deploying four central midfielders in several games during the last season. And he could be forced to do the same tonight to tackle Real Madrid’s numbers in the centre of the park.
As such, Oriol Romeu should occupy the defensive midfield position while new signing Ilkay Gundogan and fourth captain Frenkie de Jong take up the two interior midfield slots for the Catalan heavyweights.
Pedri, who is one of the most important players in Barcelona’s setup, could slot in as the false-winger on the left side, a role that Gavi was used in regularly last season by Xavi. The 18-year-old midfield prodigy could come on in the second half, having only returned from a minor injury.
Pedri’s potential deployment as the pseudo-left-winger means that there is unlikely to be a place in the starting XI for Ez Abde, who impressed in his 45 minutes against Arsenal.
As for the remaining two attacking slots, Robert Lewandowski should continue as the No. 9 for Barcelona while Ousmane Dembele, who has been heavily linked with a move to PSG in the past 24 hours, should occupy the right flank.
The likes of Ansu Fati, Abde, and Ferran Torres should feature at some point in the second period.
Barcelona Predicted Lineup: Ter Stegen; Araujo, Kounde, Christensen, Balde; Gundogan, Romeu, de Jong; Dembele, Lewandowski, Pedri.
