Barcelona took a step closer to qualifying for the knockout stages of the Champions League with a win against Dynamo Kyiv. The Catalan giants will hope to take that good form into this weekend’s league game when they face Real Betis on Saturday.
Ronald Koeman’s side are 12th in the league, nine points behind leaders Real Sociedad although Barca have two games in hand over them. In their last game in the league, Barcelona could only muster a 1-1 draw against Alaves, despite the opposition playing with a man less for 30 minutes of the game.
Let’s take a look at the possible Barcelona lineup for the game against Real Betis
Team News
The Barcelona squad is nearly fit, with just Samuel Umtiti and Philippe Coutinho out due to injury. Ronald Araujo could return for this weekend’s clash, while goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen returned in the mid-week game after a stint on the sidelines.
Goalkeeper
Marc-Andre ter Stegen put in a solid performance on his return to the Barcelona lineup against Kyiv, making six saves. He should start ahead of Neto for this weekend’s game.
Defence
Frenkie de Jong started at the back in place of Clement Lenglet for the mid-week game, but the central defender should return to the Barcelona lineup for Saturday’s game. He is likely to partner Gerard Pique at the back for Barcelona. Sergino Dest and Jordi Alba played in the full-back positions in Europe. Dest may drop out for Sergi Roberto, while Alba will most likely retain his place.
Midfield
Sergio Busquets played 75 minutes of the mid-week game and he should start once again against Real Betis. Frenkie de Jong will most likely be moved back to his natural midfield position in place of Miralem Pjanic. Carles Alena is another option for Koeman in the middle of the park.
Pedri played in the No. 10 role against Dynamo Kyiv, but we could see Lionel Messi occupy that spot in the Barcelona lineup.
Attack
Pedri could drop out of the starting XI with either Ousmane Dembele or Trincao playing on the right. Ansu Fati and Antoine Griezmann should retain their places in the Barcelona lineup.
