Barcelona look to bounce back from a frustrating defeat at Anoeta and stay alive in the race for the Top 8 in the Champions League league phase when they travel to the beautiful capital of the Czech Republic to face Slavia Prague in a must-win European clash.
The Blaugrana need all three points as well as other results going their way to reach the final matchday next week with a small hope of guaranteeing an automatic spot in the Round of 16, and they’ll be big favorites against a Slavia side yet
to win in the league phase and who have the worst attack in the competition.
Here’s how we think Hansi Flick will line up his troops for Wednesday’s battle:
Defense
This is as must-win as must-win gets, so there’s zero doubt about Flick going with his strongest possible team for this one.
The back four picks itself these days, so it’ll be Joan Garcia in goal with Jules Kounde, Pau Cubarsí, Eric Garcia and Alejandro Balde making up the backline, althouth Gerard Martín could start ahead of Eric if the coach decides to freshen things up just a bit.
Midfield
Lamine Yamal’s suspension creates quite a bit of doubt about the makeup of the front four, but we do know that Frenkie de Jong and Pedri will start together as the double pivot. The number 10 is the big question mark and even though we think Fermín López will retain his spot for this one, we could just as easily see Dani Olmo or even Raphinha in that role if the coach decides to be ultra-aggressive.
Attack
We do think Raphinha will start as an attacker, but the main doubt is which of the wings will be occupied by the Brazilian in this one. The natural replacement for the suspended Yamal is Roony Bardghji, but we think Flick will opt for the experience of Marcus Rashford and start the Englishman on the left, with Raphinha on the right and Robert Lewandowski up front, since Ferran Torres is a doubt for this one due to hamstring tightness.
Possible XI: Joan; Kounde, Cubarsí, Eric, Balde; De Jong, Pedri; Raphinha, Fermín, Rashford; Lewandowski (4-2-3-1)
How do you think Barcelona should line up against Slavia Prague? Let us know your thoughts, predictions and teams in the comments below!
