After a wild and disappointing draw away to Celta Vigo at the weekend it is time for Barcelona to return to continental action as the Catalans play a huge Champions League game against one of the competition’s biggest surprises in Stade Brestois, better known as Brest, at the Montjuïc Olympic Stadium.
Both teams currently sit in the much-coveted Top 8 spots in the League Phase standings with four games remaining, and a victory for Barça against a direct competitor would leave the Catalans in a great position to get an automatic spot in the Round of 16. But it won’t be easy against a tough and well-organized Brest side that is unbeaten in the competition, has already held Bayer Leverkusen to a draw and will no doubt look for one of the biggest results in their history against the mighty Blaugrana.
Here’s how we think Hansi Flick will line up his troops for Tuesday’s battle.
Defense
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After a loss to Real Sociedad and a bad performance against Celta, Flick will no doubt be looking for a strong showing and a big win from his team and will thus choose his best possible team for this one.
The back four of Jules Kounde, Pau Cubarsi, Iñigo Martínez and Alejandro Balde should be reunited for this one after Balde was left out as a precaution against Celta due to a slight hamstring issue, but if the young left-back is still not good to go then Héctor Fort would be the favorite to start on the left given his strong performance in place of Gerard Martín at the weekend.
Midfield
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Barça’s biggest issue against Celta on Saturday was their inability to hold on to the ball, as their constant turnovers led to several counter-attacks that ultimately caused their downfall in Vigo. The easiest way to solve that issue is to insert captain Frenkie de Jong back into the lineup, and we think Flick will make that choice in this one.
Marc Casadó was sent off at the weekend, which pretty much guarantees he will start this one since Gavi probably isn’t ready to start two games in such a short span and will likely take Casadó’s spot in the lineup in the next game. Pedri will likely be the final piece in the midfield trio, looking to rebound from a poor performance by his standards against Celta.
Attack
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Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski both found the net at the weekend and the Brazilian was the standout performer against Celta, and he’ll need to be at his best once again as Lamine Yamal has been ruled out of Tuesday’s clash due to his ankle injury and will miss a third consecutive game.
That opens up a spot in the front three that will likely be occupied once again by Dani Olmoalthough Fermín López could earn a spot in the starting XI if Flick decides to change things up in the frontline.
Possible XI: Rock; Kounde, Cubars, Inigo, Balde; Married, De Jong, Pedri; Lewandowski, Elm (4-3-3)
How do you think Barcelona should line up against Brest? Let us know your thoughts, predictions and teams in the comments below!
