Barcelona will travel to Cadiz with a near full-strength squad, with the starting eleven unlikely to be changed after a terrific few games.
Barcelona are one of the in-form teams in Spain and Europe, and Xavi Hernandez will look to continue with the flying performances. The Catalan giants will pay a visit to Cadiz at Estadio Nuevo Mirandilla on Saturday night, looking to keep pace with table toppers Real Madrid and get a fourth win on the trot.
Xavi will be delighted to have all his players fit and ready to compete. Sergi Roberto was the only one in some doubt after a slight muscular problem against Viktoria Plzen earlier this week. However, despite making it to training later in the week, the midfielder is omitted from the travelling squad.
But there are two notable inclusions, with deadline day arrivals Hector Bellerin and Marcos Alonso travelling along with the rest. Xavi Hernandez confirmed the news during his pre-match press conference, suggesting the duo were physically fit and in line with the team’s dynamics.
Xavi said, “They (Bellerin & Alonso) be with us tomorrow; they had a pretty good week with physical training, there are good feelings, and they are ready to help the team. Whether it’s 90, 30 or 10 minutes, they are already in the dynamics of the team.”
Considering Barcelona’s recent good form, there is no reason for Xavi to think about rotating his first-team players at this stage. Moreover, the team has momentum on their side, for which the current eleven are responsible.
Hence, an unchanged starting lineup is expected to take the field against Cadiz. Jules Kounde, Ronald Araujo, Eric Garcia and Alejandro Balde will shield Marc-Andre ter Stegen in the Barcelona goal, while Sergio Busquets will hold the midfield together alongside Gavi and Pedri.
Robert Lewandowski will be the man in focus after his midweek hat-trick against Viktoria Plzen. The Polish striker will lead the line for Barcelona against Cadiz, supported by Ousmane Dembele coming in from the left-hand side of the attack, while Raphinha should start on the other flank.
Predicted Barcelona XI: ter Stegen; Kounde, Araujo, Garcia, Balde; Gavi, Busquets, Pedri; Raphinha, Lewandowski, Dembele