After clinching back-to-back La Liga titles with a win in El Clásico on Sunday, Barcelona return to action for their penultimate away game of the season as the champions travel to the Basque Country to face struggling Deportivo Alavés.
Here’s how we think Hansi Flick will line up his troops for Wednesday’s battle:
Defense
Barça don’t have a lot of time to recover from Sunday’s game and had a full parade on Monday, so Hansi Flick may very well choose to fully rotate his team and have a fresh starting XI to give
some reserves a chance to play in this one.
We are expecting three changes at the back, with Eric Garcia staying in the back four but moving to center-back alongside captain Ronald Araujo, with Jules Kounde and Alejandro Balde starting at the full-back spots.
Midfield
Flick has relied a whole lot on Pedri in recent weeks and Gavi is coming off a heavy-minute run in the last few games, so we think both will be rested and Frenkie de Jong will start alongside Marc Bernal in the double pivot. We also think Dani Olmo will likely start ahead of Fermín López in the number 10 spot, to give Barça much-needed creativity in short spaces against a defensive Alavés side.
Attack
Marcus Rashford scored a great goal in El Clásico and looks hungry to prove he deserves a permanent move to Catalonia, so we think the Englishman will remain in the lineup for this one but start on the left wing with Raphinha suspended and Fermín needing a rest. That would open a spot on the right for Roony Bardghji, and Robert Lewandowski will likely get the nod up front.
Possible XI: Joan; Kounde, Araujo, Eric, Balde; De Jong, Bernal; Roony, Olmo, Rashford; Lewandowski (4-2-3-1)
How do you think Barcelona should line up against Alavés? Let us know your thoughts, predictions and teams in the comments below!
