Kounde makes his debut in a 4-3-3: How Barcelona could line up against Real Valladolid

Barcelona returned to winning ways with a stunning second-half display against Real Sociedad, headlined by Ansu Fati’s cameo. The youngster came on near the hour mark with the score at 1-1, and scored one and assisted two in the eventual 1-4 win.

The Blaugranes may have come out victors, but they were in no way, shape, or form excellent.

Xavi opted to use an experimental 3-2-4-1 system, with Ferran Torres in advanced midfield and Frenkie de Jong in a double pivot. Both players were ineffective, alongside Gavi, and even Ousmane Dembele for a majority of the game.

While the back-three suited Barcelona defensively, they were toothless in possession, and could not control the game. Thankfully, when you have players like Ansu Fati and Raphinha on the bench, you can’t go too wrong.

That said, Xavi does not have a lot of scope for these kind of performances this season. He has been given a majority of the players he asked for, along with pre-season, time, and overwhelming support from fans.

With Real Valladolid up next, we don’t expect another tactical dummy run from the manager. This is how Barça Universal thinks the Catalans will line up tomorrow.

Defence

Right off the bat, Marc-Andre ter Stegen is a non-negotiable starter. Possibly one of only three in the team right now. He has looked sharp in the opening two games, and if not for a lapse of concentration from de Jong, could have kept two clean sheets.

In more good news, Barcelona fans will finally see Jules Kounde in action tomorrow! Xavi has pretty much confirmed his registration with La Liga. No better place to make his debut than Camp Nou.

He will likely partner Ronald Araujo at the heart of the defence. The Camp Nou faithful have been dreaming of this centre-back partnership since the signing was completed, and tomorrow, they could finally see it in action.

Alejandro Balde got the chance to start over Jordi Alba last weekend and assisted Robert Lewandowski’s opening goal. He is expected to retain his spot, especially since Alba started against Manchester City in the friendly.

Finally, if reports are to be believed, Sergi Roberto will get the nod at right-back as an award for his brilliant display against City.

Midfield

Rather predictably, we will likely see Sergio Busquets return to the starting lineup tomorrow. His absence was evident in the previous game, but with him, proceedings should be much smoother for Barça.

Even discounting his error vs Sociedad, de Jong played 84 minutes in that game and followed that up with 72 minutes against City. He will likely start from the bench tomorrow, with Franck Kessie taking his place in midfield.

Gavi, probably won’t feature from the first whistle, either. This means the last piece in the midfield trident, unquestionably, will be Pedri.

Attack

Let’s get the obvious one out of the way – Robert Lewandowski will almost definitely spearhead Barcelona as the lone striker in a 4-3-3. His aid? Well, that’s a bit tricky.

One would have expected Xavi to go for Fati on the left wing, but the manager said during his pre-game press conference that the Spaniard is still far from 100% fitness.

That said, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Memphis Depay’s contentious future, coupled with Ferran Torres’ poor form in front of goal, we expect Fati in the starting lineup, at least for 45 minutes.

On the right, Ousmane Dembele is expected to retain his position. Raphinha played during mid-week and will continue to be used as a substitute for a while.

Fati · Lewandowski · Dembele
Pedri · Busquets · Kessie
Balde · Kounde · Araujo · Roberto
ter Stegen

Substitutes

Continuing where we left off, Raphinha will, most likely, come off the bench at some point in the second half to replace one of the wingers. His contribution in the Sociedad game was crucial, but unfortunately unquantifiable.

Further, de Jong will be hoping to pick up from his goal against Manchester City in the friendly. He, alongside Gavi will be two of the subs Xavi will resort to, to change the midfield.

At the back, Andreas Christensen has had a steady start to life in Barcelona and could get the chance to play again despite not starting, especially if Xavi wishes to resort to a back-three.

On the contrary, Ferran Torres could be called on to preserve the tactical premise of the attack. He will eventually come in good as he continues to get minutes under his belt.