Barcelona face another tough La Liga test at Camp Nou when they welcome Athletic Bilbao on Sunday evening.
The Catalan club, who are second in the table, will want to keep the momentum going from their dominant 3-0 win against Villarreal. The midweek victory over Villarreal was a good response to the 3-1 El Clasico defeat that had raised a lot of questions over the Xavi Hernandez-managed team’s credentials.
However, the Blaugrana should be at their sublime best to beat a solid Athletic Bilbao side, who are fourth in the standings.
Barcelona Team News
Barcelona will be without the services of Andreas Christensen and Ronald Araujo again, but Memphis Depay is nearing full fitness from a hamstring issue. Whether Xavi includes Memphis in his squad at the weekend remains to be seen.
Predicted Barcelona Lineup vs Athletic Bilbao (4-3-3)
Goalkeeper
Marc Andre ter-Stegen is a guaranteed starter in goal as the German hopes to keep back-to-back clean sheets when Barcelona faces Athletic Bilbao.
Defence
Lining up in a 4-3-3 formation, Xavi could make one change in his defence.
Eric Garcia potentially comes in central defence in place of Marcos Alonso, who played the full 90 minutes against Villarreal.
Jules Kounde was taken off in the second half after the game was sealed, and there is every chance of him partnering Garcia at the heart of the backline in the Barcelona lineup
Hector Bellerin will probably start at right-back after enjoying a 20-minute runout in midweek, with Jordi Alba keeping his place at left-back in the Barcelona lineup after an excellent performance.
Midfield
Frenkie de Jong, Franck Kessie and Gavi will likely make up the midfield in the Barcelona lineup with the trio needing to focus on dominating possession at the centre of the park. De Jong produced a top performance against Villarreal and deserves to keep his place in the side. Gavi’s energy and agility will help the Blaugrana recycle possession and keep things ticking in midfield.
Pedri played the full 90 minutes against Villarreal which suggests he won’t be starting against Athletic Bilbao. Franck Kessie may get the nod over Busquets to replace Pedri in a three-man Barcelona midfield.
Attack
Ansu Fati was outstanding in midweek, scoring a goal and terrorising the Villarreal defence with his trickery, pace and movement. He deserves to start on the left flank in the Barcelona lineup, with Ousmane Dembele providing inventiveness and attacking spice from the right.
Having substituted Robert Lewandowski early in the second half against Unai Emery’s side, it is highly likely the Polish striker leads the Barcelona lineup from the front again. One can expect Lewandowski to be hungry to get his name on the scoresheet this weekend.
Ferran Torres and Raphinha might have to settle for bench duties but might come on to impact the game in the final quarter if the Catalan club are in need of a goal by then.