HOW WILL BARçA LINE UP IN EL CLáSICO?

Barcelona are still trying to pick up the pieces after the midweek disaster against Paris Saint-Germain that resulted in yet another terrible Champions League elimination, and the Catalans now have one last chance to save their season when they travel to the Spanish capital for the final El Clásico of the campaign against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu.

The mood around the Barça camp could not be any worse after Wednesday’s tragedy, but they must find a way to recover and try to reignite the La Liga title race with a win against their biggest rivals. Anything other than a Barça victory effectively crowns Real as champions, but a Blaugrana upset adds at least some intrigue to the final six games of the season.

Here’s how we think Xavi Hernández will line up his troops for Sunday’s battle:

Defense

The heartbreak in midweek was made even worse by the fact that Barça actually made a pretty good start to the game, as the Blaugrana were in full control until the infamous red card that changed the entire tie. But the strong performance in the first half-hour will probably lead Xavi into not making many changes, and sticking with mostly the same team that played so well in the first 120 minutes of the European quarter-finals.

The back four of Jules Kounde, Ronald Araujo, Pau Cubarsí and João Cancelo had performed very well until the Uruguayan’s sending off, and Cancelo’s reckless challenge that led to a penalty in the second half was also hugely consequential. Araujo and Cancelo will no doubt look to make up for their mistakes this weekend, while Cubarsí will get his first taste of El Clásico.

It remains to be seen whether or not Araujo will play right-back as he usually does against Vinícius Júnior, but that formula did not work well in the Spanish Super Cup Final back in January and Kounde looks very comfortable at full-back now, so we think Xavi will stick with Araujo in the middle and have Kounde defend Vinícius if and when the Brazilian drifts to the left wing.

Midfield

Andreas Christensen’s suspenion was already a big deal before the second leg against PSG even started, and the Dane’s absence was felt even more after the red card. His role as a defensive midfielder is a crucial part of Barça’s identity now, and it’s almost a certainty he will return to that position on Sunday.

Ilkay Gündogan may not be super popular with some of his own teammates right now but he remains a key piece and will start again, leaving two players fighting for the final midfield spot: Frenkie de Jong is the favorite to start in the double pivot alongside Christensen due to Pedri’s lack of full fitness, but De Jong has not played well at all since returning from injury and might be dropped to the bench for performance reasons.

There’s still a chance both Frenkie and Pedri start in a four-man midfield setup with the Spanish magician as a false left winger, but we think Xavi will go with a true front three in this one and choose the Dutchman as a starter.

Attack

Lamine Yamal was sacrificed after Araujo’s red card on Tuesday, which is a real shame after the teenager had made a fantastic start to the game against PSG. He also had a fantastic performance with Spain at the Bernabéu last month, so there’s no doubt the youngster will be looking forward to putting on another show in Madrid.

Raphinha had to fight very hard for two whole seasons to earn the admiration of Barça fans, but he’s one of the very few who came out of the PSG game looking good after scoring yet again and showing a remarkable attitude and fighting spirt that was lacking in most of his teammates in the second half. The Brazilian will start on Sunday, and will look to continue his excellent form.

Robert Lewandowski chose the wrong time to have one of his weakest performances in a Barça shirt, missing at least two massive chances and making bad decisions throughout the night. The Pole had been in great form until Tuesday and has generally played well in 2024, however, so he’ll look to quickly rebound from a bad night in midweek with a decisive showing in Madrid.

Possible XI: Ter Stegen; Kounde, Araujo, Cubarsí, Cancelo; Christensen, De Jong; Yamal, Gündogan, Raphinha; Lewandowski (4-2-3-1)

How do you think Barcelona should line up against Real Madrid? Let us know your thoughts, predictions and teams in the comments below!

2024-04-20T07:03:31Z dg43tfdfdgfd