Pique, Alba start in a 3-4-3: How Barcelona could line up against Victoria Plzen

The Chaaaampionssss!
UEFA Champions League for the 2022/23 season is finally back, and for the first time in a fair few years, Barcelona fans have every reason to be excited. After signing eight players this transfer window, after all, why would they not be?

Headlined by Robert Lewandowski, Jules Kounde, Raphinha, and plenty more, Barcelona have a revamped team. One that is more than capable of locking horns with the best in Europe.

Tomorrow, they take the first step in the right direction, hosting Victoria Plzen at the Camp Nou for the opening gameday of the group stages.

The Czech side are no pushovers, sitting second in their league, level on points with Slavia Praha. That said, Barcelona do have ample room to make rotations. Tomorrow, we expect Xavi not only to tweak the lineup a fair bit, but also to play around with the formation.

Defence

Marc-Andre ter Stegen, with the form he is in, especially, is among the first names in the Barcelona starting XI. We expect him to start in goal, as per, as he looks to register his fourth clean sheets in five games this season.

There will be ample rotations in the defence. It is not farfetched to predict that Xavi will opt to use his preferred three-at-the-back tomorrow, experimenting a bit, as he did vs Real Sociedad.

Xavi hinted that the ‘old guard’ could start tomorrow. Therefore, Gerard Pique is in line to make his season debut tomorrow. The Spaniard has not received a single minute this season, and it truly feels like the beginning of the end.

To his left, Andreas Christensen could be given the nod ahead of Ronald Araujo and Eric Garcia after both suffered injury scares against Sevilla. Jules Kounde will be the final piece in the defensive trident, on the right side of Pique.

Midfield

The midfield tomorrow will likely be a flat-four, featuring two wing-backs. Jordi Alba should also get time to grace the pitch tomorrow, as the left-wingback. Without defensive duties, the Spaniard should have a solid attacking output.

Sergio Busquets will, in all likelihood, be benched tomorrow. And so will Pedri and Gavi. The three have participated in a ton of games already this season and need some long-overdue rest.

The double pivot, will, therefore, consist of Frenkie de Jong and Franck Kessie. Since neither of them can function as the sole pivot, playing alongside each other, and with the security of a three-man defence behind them, the duo could truly thrive.

Sergi Roberto will be starting in the same role, but on the right side. His role will be slightly different, though, as he is expected to drift in as one of the midfielders, giving de Jong and Kessie freedom to rove upwards.

Attack

Xavi confirmed during his presser that Ansu Fati is, in fact, ready to start games. As such, we expect him to make his first start this season tomorrow, playing as the striker in the attack.

Ferran Torres will aid his compatriot, starting on the left-wing. He has come under heavy scrutiny lately due to a lack of goals, but tomorrow could be the start of a special season.

We expect Raphinha to round off the attacking trident as the right-winger. The Brazilian was exceptional in the last two games, and could be awarded with a third consecutive start, while Ousmane Dembele is rested for the Cadiz game.

Torres · Fati · Raphinha
Alba · de Jong · Kessie · Roberto
Christensen · Pique · Kounde
ter Stegen

Off-the-bench

Assuming Xavi does indeed opt to bench both Pedri and Gavi, we expect at least one of them – likely the former – to come off the bench. He was substituted off in the previous game, and could be in line to play a few minutes.

The same goes for Robert Lewandowski, who is in incredible form, scoring five goals in four games this season. His UCL record in the recent seasons has been ridiculous; Barça will have their fingers crossed that he can keep it up.

Ousmane Dembele is also expected to make an appearance at some point, but more importantly, Pablo Torre and Memphis Depay could get their first few minutes of the season.