Despite resting several key players, Barcelona defeated Inter Milan 2-1 in the Champions League at the San Siro, a loss which meant that the Italians were demoted to the Europa League. The Catalans turn their attention towards La Liga where they face Real Sociedad on Saturday.
Barca manager Ernesto Valverde will have an eye on Wednesday’s first El Clasico clash of the season against Real Madrid but will ideally want a fast start from his team so that he can make early changes in the second half. The two Spanish giants are locked on the same points at the top of the table.
Let’s take a look at the possible Barcelona lineup for this game against Sociedad:
Team News
Midfielder Arthur and Ousmane Dembele are certain to miss the game against Real Sociedad due to injury.
Full-backs Jordi Alba and Nelson Semedo have missed the last few games due to injury but they have returned to training. They may make it to the bench and may not be thrown into the starting XI so soon after returning from injury.
PREDICTED BARCELONA LINEUP VS REAL SOCIEDAD (4-3-3)
Goalkeeper
Marc-André ter Stegen was given a rest for the mid-week game as Neto played his first game for Barcelona. ter Stegen should return to the Barcelona lineup for the league game.
Defence
Experienced central defender Gerard Pique was also rested for the Champions League game, but he should return to the starting lineup. The Spaniard should play alongside Clément Lenglet at the heart of the Barca defence.
Sergi Roberto was not a part of the squad that travelled to Italy, but he too should start in the league game, playing at right-back in place of Moussa Wague.
Junior Firpo should retain his place in the Barca team, playing at left-back.
Midfield
Sergio Busquets was an unused substitute for Barcelona against Inter, but he should start in the league game, playing with Frenkie de Jong.
The injury to Arthur means that Arturo Vidal or Ivan Rakitic could take up the third midfield role. Rakitic was substituted in the 60-minute mark against Inter, which indicates that he may be picked for the game against Sociedad.
Attack
Antoine Griezmann played 62 minutes of the game against Inter, before being replaced by Luis Suarez. Both of them should start the weekend’s game in the Barcelona lineup, with Lionel Messi returning to the team as well.
