Barcelona’s wonderful run of form came to an unceremonious halt in midweek after they succumbed to a disappointing 3-1 defeat at the hands of Manchester City in the Champions League.
In truth, Barcelona were completely dominated the encounter and Luis Enrique’s men most certainly could not have any qualms whatsoever regarding the final result.
Now Barcelona need to bounce back with a good result in La Liga this weekend but it will be easier said than done as the Spanish giants prepare to square off against a rampant Sevilla side away from home on Sunday night.
Here is the strongest possible Barcelona lineup for the clash against Sevilla –
Goalkeeper
Marc-Andre ter Stegen did not enjoy the best of outings against Manchester City on Tuesday night and one can be sure that the German goalkeeper will be tested on Sunday as well.
Sevilla possess one of the most exciting attacking lineups in Spain and ter Stegen will need to perform extremely well in order for Barcelona to be able to claim a good result on the night.
Defence
The makeshift defensive lineup consisting of Samuel Umtiti, Javier Mascherano, Lucas Digne and Sergi Roberto was ripped to shreds by the stunning Manchester City attack and Enrique will surely be tempted to make changes as a result against Sevilla.
However, with the likes of Gerard Pique, Aleix Vidal, Jeremy Mathieu and Jordi Alba all remaining ruled out, there is a strong possibility that Enrique will have to keep faith in the same backline this weekend as well.
Midfield
Andre Gomes was a surprise starter at the middle of the park for Barcelona on Tuesday night but it has to be said that the Portuguese international did not perform to the best of his abilities.
Therefore, there is a strong possibility that Gomes will be dropped on Sunday and the in-form Rafinha looks set to be the most likely replacement.
Ivan Rakitic and Sergio Busquets were also uncharacteristically ineffectual against City and the duo will need to step their game up on Sunday if Barcelona are to claim a victory.
Attack
Lionel Messi scored a wonderful goal in midweek but the match was marred at the end for the Argentinean after his alleged war of words with City assistant manager Mikel Arteta.
Messi will surely be looking to put the ugly episode behind him this weekend and along with Neymar and Luis Suarez, look to plot the downfall of Sevilla. The duo of Arda Turan and Paco Alcacer will also be hopeful of featuring on the night in some capacity.
