Barca have only one nominal left winger, Ansu Fati, so replacing him won’t be an easy task.
Barcelona have confirmed that Ansu Fati suffered an internal meniscus tear in his left knee against Real Betis. According to reports, the youngster could end up missing up to four months.
The 18-year-old has been a regular player, starting in eight of Barca’s 10 games so far. This means that Ronald Koeman will have to rethink what starting XI should be our go-to option this season.
RELATED:
Tribuna.com present you four ways the Catalans should consider lining up after the international break.
1. Dembele on the left
Barca XI: Ter Stegen; Dest, Pique, Lenglet, Alba; Pjanic, De Jong; Messi, Coutinho, Dembele; Griezmann.
- With the international break up ahead, Philippe Coutinho will have enough time to recover from his injury; the Brazilian could return to his preferred position.
- Although he performs better on the right wing, Koeman has no natural left wingers in the squad, so Ousmane Dembele seems like the best solution to replace Fati.
- Leo Messi will have no problems covering the right wing; he could change positions with Antoine Griezmann when defending.
2. Same players, different positions
Barca XI: Ter Stegen; Dest, Pique, Lenglet, Alba; Pjanic, De Jong; Dembele, Griezmann, Coutinho; Messi.
- Coutinho used to play as a left winger in a 4-2-3-1 formation at Liverpool and Bayern Munich and did great.
- Dembele can continue playing in his favourite position.
- This could easily turn into a 4-4-2 when defending, with Messi and Griezmann as the two forwards,
RELATED:
3. Pedri in
Barca XI: Ter Stegen; Dest, Pique, Lenglet, Alba; Pjanic, De Jong; Griezmann, Coutinho, Pedri; Messi.
- Pedri has shown that he can play both as an attacking midfielder and as a left winger, so he could replace Fati.
- Griezmann might go back to the right wing where he played at the start of the season; although he didn’t create much, he was great defensively.
4. Dembele over Griezmann
Barca XI: Ter Stegen; Dest, Pique, Lenglet, Alba; Pjanic, De Jong; Dembele, Coutinho, Pedri; Messi.
- Coutinho and Griezmann have similar roles on the pitch, and the coach could drop Antoine for Dembouz in order to add variety to out attack.
What starting XI would you go for? Tell us in the comments below!
Follow our socials Whatsapp, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Google News.
