Jules Kounde and Ansu Fati will return to the Barcelona starting lineup against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday.
Barcelona will hope to remain on the summit of La Liga when they lock horns with Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday afternoon. And Xavi Hernandez has greeted a positive update on the team news front ahead of his side’s latest fixture.
Jules Kounde is fit and part of the travelling squad to take on Real Madrid this weekend. That leaves Andreas Christensen (ankle), Hector Bellerin (leg), Ronald Araujo (hip), and Memphis Depay (hamstring) on the sidelines.
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Xavi confirmed Kounde’s availability during his pre-match press conference, saying, “He is 100% ready, is training well, and will be ready for tomorrow’s match.” The Barcelona manager also touched upon the prospect of utilising Marcos Alonso as a centre-back against Real Madrid.
Xavi added, “Anything is possible. Alonso played as a centre-back, we will decide on it tomorrow. It has nothing to do with Vinicius only, but with Benzema, Kroos, and the rest of the players. They have a strong team.”
While Alonso might be an option to play as a centre-back, Kounde should return to the starting lineup. The French international will pair up with Eric Garcia at the heart of the Barcelona defence. Sergi Roberto should continue on the right flank, while Alejandro Balde will likely replace Alonso as the left-back. Marc-Andre ter Stegen will take his usual place between the sticks.
As for the midfield unit, Xavi has all his resources at his disposal this weekend. But he should retain the trifecta that started against Inter Milan earlier this week in the UEFA Champions League. Sergio Busquets will thus be the holding midfielder, with Pedri and Gavi starting alongside him. So Frenkie de Jong will be an option on the bench again.
Meanwhile, Ansu Fati will hope to earn a starting spot against Real Madrid. The teenage prodigy has made gradual progress this season and should return to the lineup on Sunday. Fati will join Robert Lewandowski and Ousmane Dembele in the final third. So Raphinha and Ferran Torres will be Barcelona’s backup attackers in the season’s first El Clasico.
Predicted Barcelona XI: ter Stegen; Roberto, Kounde, Garcia, Balde; Gavi, Busquets, Pedri; Fati, Lewandowski, Dembele