Barcelona will be bidding to get back to winning ways in La Liga on Friday evening when they host Sevilla at Camp Nou.
The Catalan giants are in red-hot form and have claimed the top spot in the league with 17 points from seven games, having dropped points on the first day of the season. However, their five-game winning run in the league came to an end on Tuesday when Mallorca held them to a 2-2 draw.
Xavi Hernandez should expect a better performance from his boys against Sevilla, who head to Camp Nou off the back of a 5-1 thrashing of Almeria.
Barcelona Team News
Barcelona were without Frenkie de Jong and Pedri for the trip to Mallorca, but they received a boost on Tuesday as Ronald Araujo returned to the starting XI after coming off the bench against Celta Vigo last weekend.
Other than De Jong and Pedri, Xavi will have a fully fit squad available to pick a strong Barcelona lineup against Sevilla.
Goalkeeper
Xavi will stick with the 4-3-3 formation where Marc-Andre ter Stegen will be in goal. The German was partly at fault for Mallorca’s opening goal and he will be desperate to redeem himself with a solid performance against Sevilla.
Defence
Ahead of the clash with Mallorca, Xavi stated in his presser that there will be two to three rotations per game in order to try to keep the players fully fit and injury-free. Due to a quick turnaround time between fixtures, the Barcelona boss is set to ring in the changes again.
Alejandro Balde could drop out of the Barcelona lineup having played the full game in the 2-2 draw with Mallorca, with Joao Cancelo, who started at right-back, taking his place on the opposite side of the defence.
Jules Kounde is likely to get the nod to start at right-back against Sevilla. In the heart of the defence, Ronaldo Araujo will pair up with Inigo Martinez in the Barcelona lineup.
Midfield
With De Jong and Pedri out injured, Oriol Romeu, Ilkay Gundogan and Gavi will form Barcelona’s engine room on Friday. They will look to dictate the tempo of the game and control the majority of the ball against Sevilla.
Attack
Robert Lewandowski was benched on Tuesday as Xavi rotated his front three. Ferran Torres replaced Lewandowski in the No.9 role against Mallorca, with Joao Felix and Raphinha operating as wide forwards.
In the upcoming game, Lewandowski is expected to be restored to the first XI to lead the Barcelona attack.
Raphinha, who was excellent against Mallorca, should keep his place on the right flank while Felix will continue on the left in the Barcelona lineup having started off in fine fashion since joining the club in the summer.
Young guns Lamine Yamal and Fermin Lopez should be getting opportunities to make an impact in the second half.
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