Barcelona travel to Los Carmenes to face Granada on Sunday evening in La Liga, hoping to enter October’s international break on a high note.
The Catalan are the only team in La Liga yet to lose a single game in eight matchweeks and are currently second in the standings, one point below arch-rivals Real Madrid. They beat Sevilla 1-0 in their last league game before following it up with a 1-0 away win over FC Porto in their second Champions League group-stage fixture on Wednesday evening.
Xavi Hernandez and co. have started the 2023/24 campaign extremely well and should be bidding to go into the second international break with their unbeaten run across all competitions intact.
Barcelona Team News
Robert Lewandowski is unlikely to feature for Barcelona in their upcoming league clash against Granada after picking up a knock to his left leg against Porto in the Champions League. Following a strong challenge by David Carmo, Lewandowski was substituted in the second half for eventual match-winner Ferran Torres.
Raphinha (hamstring), Pedri (thigh) and Frenkie de Jong (ankle) are all already ruled out through injury for Barcelona.
Predicted Barcelona lineup vs Granada (4-3-3)
Goalkeeper
Marc Andre ter-Stegen is Barcelona’s undisputed No.1, and he will be eyeing three consecutive clean sheets in all formats.
Defence
Xavi could make changes to his defence to keep his players fit after being hit with injuries across the squad.
Ronald Araujo, who has just returned from injury, could make way for Andreas Christensen after completing the full game against FC Porto. Christensen should partner Jules Kounde in the Barcelona lineup forming the centre-back pairing.
Another change we could see at the back is the selection of Marcos Alonso over Alejandro Balde, who started against FC Porto in midweek. Meanwhile, Joao Cancelo should retain his right-back spot in the Barcelona lineup after a series of impressive displays.
Midfield
With options in midfield stretched following injuries to Pedri and De Jong, Xavi is set to stick with the same trio that started in the 1-0 win over Porto. This means Oriol Romeu, Ilkay Gundogan and Gavi should all start against Granada.
Romeu will sit at the base and mop things up, with support from Gavi and Gundogan on either side. They will look to take control of the game as quickly as possible and stop the hosts from playing their natural game.
Attack
With Raphinha already ruled out and Lewandowski also likely to miss the game against Granada, Xavi will be a tad light on attacking options going into the game. As such, Ferran Torres is the likely option to lead the Barcelona attack, and he will be confident heading into the game off the back of scoring the winner against Porto.
Joao Felix deserves to keep his spot on the left flank in the Barcelona lineup, while teenage prodigy Lamine Yamal seems to have recovered from the illness he was suffering from earlier this week and could be ready to face Granada at the weekend.