Trincao is in line to make his Champions League debut while Ansu Fati and Philippe Coutinho will return when Barcelona face Ferencvaros on Tuesday.
Barcelona will be eager to return to winning ways and kick-start their UEFA Champions League campaign on a positive note when they play hosts to Ferencvaros at Camp Nou on Tuesday night. And, Ronald Koeman does not have any fresh injury concerns to deal with ahead of his side’s latest fixture.
The likes of Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Samuel Umtiti and Jordi Alba remain on the sidelines and as a result, Koeman’s defensive choices have taken a bit of a hit. However, there are no such worries as far as the attacking department is concerned.
Indeed, the Barcelona manager has all of his attacking resources available to him, which ought to enable him to rotate his troops efficiently. In particular, the likes of Philippe Coutinho and Ansu Fati should return to the starting lineup against Ferencvaros after starting on the bench at Getafe this past weekend.
❝He's happy and he's training well.❞
— @RonaldKoeman, on Leo #Messi pic.twitter.com/gmYZPOxCKf— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) October 19, 2020
Coutinho will come in for the impressive Pedri, who received words of praise from Koeman during his pre-match press conference. The Barcelona boss also spoke about Fati, saying, “I am happy with Pedri and Ansu Fati. I see them working very well, but we have to keep helping them to improve their game more.”
The key decision that Koeman makes will centre around Antoine Griezmann, who failed to deliver after making some big comments during the international break. Ahead of Barcelona’s Champions League opener against Ferencvaros, Koeman was quizzed about the Frenchman and whether he will be making rotations.
The Barcelona boss said in his presser (h/t Barca Blaugranes), “He is working well, of course we can have more performance at the top and he can give more. The only thing players can do is work hard to improve this situation. We know that it won’t be an easy game. We’ll put out a strong XI, and we aren’t thinking about Saturday’s game right now. The important game for us is tomorrow.”
Griezmann could be relegated to the bench, with Francisco Trincao coming in for him on the right wing slot. With Trincao, making his Champions League debut, starting on the flank, Lionel Messi will move back up to the central striker’s berth.
In midfield, Frenkie de Jong’s form is a concern. However, the Dutchman should keep his place ahead of Miralem Pjanic, with Sergio Busquets being his partner in the double pivot once again. Finally, as far as the backline is concerned, Gerard Pique and Clement Lenglet are the obvious pairing at the heart of the Barcelona defence.
Sergino Dest impressed in the left-back slot while filling in for Alba this past weekend and should continue ahead of Junior Firpo. On the right flank, Sergi Roberto is an automatic pick, for now. Meanwhile, Neto will continue deputising for the injured ter Stegen.
Barcelona Predicted XI: Neto; Roberto, Pique, Lenglet, Dest; Busquets, de Jong; Trincao, Coutinho, Fati; Messi
