Lots of matches awaiting in January, including the Super Cup.
Ideal formation: Ronald Koeman has been using the 4-2-3-1 and 3-5-2 formations this season, but considering the recent injuries and bad forms of some of our players, we believe it’s best we go back to the 4-3-3 set-up.
Philippe Coutinho is out with a serious injury while Antoine Griezmann has been bad recently, so it makes little sense to go on with the 4-2-3-1 formation. As for the 3-5-2, it doesn’t really have a place in it for Ousmane Dembele, who’s been extremely helpful when given the chance.
Players to start: Dembele should get the left wing cemented to himself while Oscar Mingueza and Pedri should keep their roles as regular starters. Miralem Pjainc, who hasn’t been playing to much this term, deserves a run of games from the start.
Barca XI: Ter Stegen; Dest, Araujo, Mingueza, Alba; De Jong, Pjanic, Pedri; Messi, Braithwaite, Dembele.
Why are these players selected: Dembele is a pure winger and having him playing on the opposite side from Messi would benefit our counter-attacks. Mingueza, despite lacking experience, is reliable and contributes a lot to our build-up. And finally, Pjanic looked decent when on the pitch despite not being given too many opportunities.
Players who are dropped: As we’ve mentioned, Griezmann has been dreadful lately, being almost invisible in the clash against Eibar when everybody expected him to take on Leo’s responsibilities. Clement Lenglet has been unreliable and error-prone this term, costing us several points throughout the season. Sergio Busquets is no longer the world-class defensive midfielder he once was, and it’s hard to name at least three matches in 2020 where he impressed.
Upcoming fixtures: Huesca vs Barca (Jan 3), Athletic Bilbao vs Barca (Jan 6), Granada vs Barca (Jan 9), Real Sociedad vs Barca (Jan 13, Super Cup), Real Madrid/Bilbao vs Barcelona (Jan 17, possible Super Cup final), Elche vs Barca (Jan 24), Barca vs Bilbao (Jan 31).
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