Barcelona managed to get over their Champions League disappointment against Manchester City with a hard fought victory over Sevilla before the international break and the Catalan giants are currently doing very well to keep pace with Real Madrid at the top of the La Liga table.
Now Barcelona will be squaring off against Malaga this weekend and although Luis Enrique’s men do head into the clash at the Nou Camp as the favourites, claiming the victory will surely not prove to be an easy task for the Spanish champions.
Here is the strongest possible Barcelona lineup for the clash against Malaga –
Goalkeeper
Marc-Andre ter Stegen did not quite enjoy a good performance against Sevilla a fortnight ago and he would most certainly have been left very relieved at the fact that his numerous errors on the night did not cost Barcelona the victory.
Therefore, ter Stegen will be determined to make amends this weekend and against a strong looking Malaga attack, the German international will need to put in a strong display to do so.
Defence
Luis Enrique has been forced to play a makeshift backline over the past few weeks due to various injury problems and the Barca manager would surely have been pleased with the fact that the likes of Jordi Alba, Gerard Pique and Jeremy Mathieu have returned to full training.
If fully match fit, Jordi Alba will be taking the place of Lucas Digne at left-back while Gerard Pique should be reinstated at the expense of Javier Mascherano. The duo of Samuel Umtiti and Sergi Roberto are likely to keep their place in the lineup though.
Midfield
Andres Iniesta still remains ruled out which means that Denis Suarez is likely to continue at the middle of the park alongside the experienced Ivan Rakitic and Sergio Busquets.
If indeed Enrique thinks about changing things around, Andre Gomes and Rafinha will also be in contention to start.
Attack
Luis Suarez is suspended for the clash after picking up his fifth booking of the season against Sevilla and the Uruguayan superstar will probably be replaced by Arda Turan in the starting lineup.
Lionel Messi and Neymar enjoyed a fruitful international round of fixtures and the duo will be looking to translate the form to club football as well during the clash against Malaga.
