Fermin, Yamal start in a 4-3-3: How Barcelona could line up against Granada

Barcelona will be eager to close down the gap to the top of the La Liga table with a victory when they face off against Granada at Los Carmenes on Sunday night.

The Blaugrana find themselves in third place in the standings, two points below second-placed Girona and four behind leaders Real Madrid.

While there is no chance of Barça overtaking their arch-rivals before the international break, they will still be eager to keep the gap at a minimum ahead of the Clasico later this month.

Up against Xavi Hernandez & co. will be a Granada side that has not started the campaign on the best of note. Battling relegation, Paco Lopez’s team are currently in 19th place but can still make life difficult for the reigning champions.

Barcelona go into the game with several injury problems as Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, Frenkie de Jong, and Pedri are all out of the game.

There could be a few changes to the starting XI that featured against FC Porto earlier this week and here’s how Barça could line up against Granada.

Starters

Marc-Andre ter Stegen is a guarantee to start in goal for Barcelona and will be aiming for his third clean sheet in a row in all competitions.

Joao Cancelo has become a permanent fixture at right-back since joining the club on deadline day and that is unlikely to change against Granada while Alejandro Balde should start on the left side of the defence.

Jules Kounde has been the best defender for Barça this season and should feature from the get-go on Sunday night. Ronald Araujo, though, could be given a breather after he had some fatigue late in the game against Porto. He will likely be replaced by Andreas Christensen.

With Barcelona very much likely to dominate possession and proceedings at Los Carmenes, Xavi might decide to do away with Oriol Romeu completely from the starting XI.

Instead, Ilkay Gundogan would slot in as the deepest of the three central midfielders for the La Liga champions.

Gavi will occupy one of the two interior midfield positions while Fermin Lopez could be handed his first-ever start for Barcelona with his creativity and ability to shoot from a distance set to come in handy.

With no Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha, Xavi does not have much room to manoeuvre in attack. As such, Ferran Torres is expected to slot in as the No. 9 for Barça against Granada after scoring the winner versus Porto.

Lamine Yamal has recovered from his illness completely and should start on the right flank as usual while Joao Felix will hold on to his spot on the left.

Barcelona Predicted Lineup: Ter Stegen, Cancelo, Kounde, Christensen, Balde, Fermin, Gundogan, Gavi, Yamal, Ferran, Joao Felix.

Substitutes

Xavi could send on the likes of Inigo Martinez and Marcos Alonso in the closing stages of the game if Barcelona have it in the bag.

Sergi Roberto could be an option for the Barcelona manager if he wishes to give a break to one of his midfielders or Joao Cancelo at right-back.

There may even be a chance that one or both of Pau Victor and Marc Guiu get their first-team debut against Granada.