Four goals against Real Sociedad and four against Real Valladolid feels like pretty good preparation for Barcelona as they travel to take on Sevilla on Saturday.
The hosts are in miserable form but Barcelona are feeling themselves after two emphatic victories on the bounce, and Xavi will be keen to move on from transfer uncertainty and simply focus on playing football.
Here’s how the boss could set up.
GK: Marc-Andre ter Stegen – Two clean sheets in three games thus far. Not bad from the German.
RB: Jules Kounde – Hector Bellerin only arrived late on Thursday so won’t be ready for this. Instead, Kounde should start on the right against his former employers.
CB: Ronald Araujo – Gerard Pique is watching on as Araujo establishes himself as the new leader of Barcelona’s defence.
CB: Eric Garcia – Andreas Christensen should be over his illness to make it onto the bench, but Garcia should keep his place.
LB: Alejandro Balde – Xavi has put his faith in the youngster this season and he hasn’t disappointed. Jordi Alba should stay on the bench for now.
DM: Sergio Busquets – He’s still going strong at 34, but Barcelona need to find somebody to inherit Busquets’ crucial role in this team when he eventually moves on.
CM: Gavi – Central midfield is not an area of concern for Barcelona as they have two of the top young talents on the planet, one of which is Gavi.
CM: Pedri – Perhaps the star of the show, Barcelona felt somewhat dependent on Pedri last season but Xavi has added more firepower this season to try and address that.
RW: Raphinha – He’s still waiting for his first Barcelona goal but Raphinha offered up his first assist in the recent victory over Real Valladolid.
ST: Robert Lewandowski – Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang isn’t here to offer competition anymore so Lewandowski will be the undisputed starter.
LW: Ousmane Dembele – With one goal and two assists from three games, Dembele has started this season right where he left off last year.
Credit: 90min.com
