Fati, Torres start in a 4-3-3: How Barcelona could line up against Girona

Barcelona will look to take a step closer towards lifting the La Liga title when they lock horns with local rivals Girona at Spotify Camp Nou on Monday night.

The Catalans have a 12-point lead atop the standings and can extend it to 15 after Real Madrid dropped points against Villarreal on Saturday.

Barcelona lost their last game 0-4 against Real Madrid and will thus be gunning to bounce back to winning ways and in the process get closer to the league title triumph.

However, they will once again be without the services of Pedri, Ousmane Dembele, Andreas Christensen, and Frenkie de Jong. Here is how Xavi could set his team up against Michel’s Girona outfit on Monday night.

Starters

Marc-Andre ter Stegen is the undisputed starter between the sticks for Barcelona and that will not change at Camp Nou. Another clean sheet could all but guarantee the Zamora Trophy for the German international.

Meanwhile, Xavi could make a few changes in the rest of the lineup, starting with the central defence. Eric Garcia could come in for Marcos Alonso due to his ball-playing abilities.

Ronald Araujo should partner him at the heart of the defence, moving back to his preferred centre-back slot. Jules Kounde will return to the right-back slot while Alejandro Balde ought to continue at left-back ahead of Jordi Alba.

Having fielded four central midfielders in recent matches, Xavi Hernandez is likely to revert to a traditional 4-3-3 formation on Monday night.

This move should see Gavi return to the centre of the park after operating as a false left-winger in midweek against Real Madrid. Captain Sergio Busquets will anchor the midfield for the Blaugrana as usual.

Franck Kessie might have given away a penalty against Real Madrid but before that, he had been one of Barcelona’s best players in the Cup Clasico. He should retain the third spot in the centre of the park, ahead of Sergi Roberto.

With Gavi moving into midfield, it should pave the way for Ansu Fati to start on the left flank. The La Masia ace had scored in the game against Elche and will hope to add to his tally tomorrow night.

There could be a change on the right flank as well with Ferran Torres coming in for Raphinha, who was quite ineffective in the last game. Robert Lewandowski will be the man leading the attack for Barcelona against Girona.

Fati · Lewandowski · Torres
Gavi · Busquets · Kessie
Balde · Eric · Araujo · Kounde
ter Stegen

Substitutes

Raphinha is bound to come on at some point in the second half, especially if Barcelona are unable to get past the Girona defence. Jordi Alba has not seen much game-time of late but could be a good option to count on for chance creation on the left side if need be.

In case the game is in the bag, Xavi could look to hand minutes to youngsters such as Estanis Pedrola, Aleix Garrido or Angel Alarcon.