FC Barcelona will be looking for their eighth consecutive win in La Liga tonight when they lock horns with CA Osasuna away at El Sadar.
The Blaugrana are sitting atop the league standings having won each of their seven games thus far, most recently defeating Getafe 1-0.
Hansi Flick & co. already have a four-point lead over arch-rivals Real Madrid and could stretch the gap to seven points with a victory today, with Los Blancos playing Atletico Madrid on Sunday.
There are no fresh injury issues to contend with for Flick as Ronald Araujo, Andreas Christensen, Marc Bernal, Fermin Lopez, Marc-Andre ter Stegen, and Dani Olmo are the only ones sidelined.
Gavi and Frenkie de Jong have been training for well over a week now, but are not yet fully ready to be considered for selection.
With the game set to kick off in under 12 hours, here is how Flick could set up his team to take on Osasuna and return triumphant from El Sadar.
Defence
With Marc-Andre ter Stegen out for the season, Inaki Pena will start again in goal for Barcelona, with manager Hansi Flick expressing confidence that the La Masia product is capable of making the position his own for the rest of the season.
Meanwhile, in defence, there are unlikely to be any alterations in the full-back slots, with Jules Kounde, who was imperious against Getafe, and Alejandro Balde expected to feature from the get-go.
Pau Cubarsi ought to start as one of the two centre-backs again, but Inigo Martinez might be due for a rest, having started all of Barça’s eight games this season. Eric Garcia could thus move into the centre-half role.
Returning to his natural habitat in defence? (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)
Gerard Martin, Hector Fort, and Sergi Dominguez could get minutes off the bench if Flick opts to give his starters a breather later on in the game.
Midfield
Pedri was given a rest by Flick against Getafe earlier in the week, but the midfield maestro will be…
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Author : Michel Durant
Publish date : 2024-09-28 08:30:00
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