Barcelona romped to a 5-2 win over RCD Mallorca in the Spanish Primera Liga last weekend, and face Inter Milan on Tuesday night in the Champions League.
The Catalan giants have already qualified for the knockout stage of the competition, and also confirmed their status as group leaders in the previous matchday.
Inter and Borussia Dortmund are on the same points in Group F of the Champions League, and only one team will qualify for the knockout stages of Europe’s elite competition, while the other will drop down to the Europa League.
Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde may rest several players for the trip to Italy.
Barcelona Team News
Jordi Alba, Nelson Semedo, Ousmane Dembele, and Arthur will miss the clash against Inter Milan, while teenager Ansu Fati is a doubt for the game as well.
Let’s take a look at the possible Barcelona lineup for the game against Inter:
Predicted Barcelona Lineup vs Inter Milan
Goalkeeper
Reserve keeper Neto has not played a game for Barcelona yet, and it’s unlikely he’ll start against Inter as Marc-André ter Stegen should continue in goal.
Defence
We could see Valverde give his reserve players a chance in this game at the back with Gerard Pique and Clément Lenglet getting a rest.
Samuel Umtiti could start at the back alongside 19-year-old French defender Jean-Clair Todibo. Junior Firpo should continue at left-back, while Moussa Wague could get a chance at right-back in place of Sergi Roberto in the Barcelona lineup.
20-year-old central defender Ronald Araújo could perhaps make the bench for this game, while Chumi is another option too.
Midfield
Sergio Busquets, Frenkie de Jong, and Ivan Rakitic started in midfield against Mallorca on the weekend, and we could see one or two of these three players be rested for the game against Inter.
Arturo Vidal could get a chance in Barcelona lineup, playing alongside Carles Aleñá, while de Jong could retain his position in the team. Monchu could get a call-up from Barcelona B.
Attack
Lionel Messi, Antoine Griezmann, and Luis Suarez scored all five goals for Barcelona against Mallorca, with Messi scoring a hat-trick. We could see Messi drop to the bench or this game, with youngster Carles Pérez replacing him in the Barcelona lineup.
If Ansu Fati is fit, he could start ahead of Suarez, with Griezmann starting as the main striker. But, if he isn’t Griezmann could play off the left and Suarez could play through the middle.
Hiroki Abe could get a call-up from Barcelona B.
