Barcelona suffered another blow in their hopes of defending the La Liga title after they only managed a 1-1 draw against Real Sociedad during the weekend. In truth, the Spanish champions were completely dominated against Sociedad and they were very fortunate to come away with anything from the clash.
It is clear to see that Barcelona are struggling at the moment and the Catalans now need a good victory in order to get their confidence back. Up next for Luis Enrique’s men is an encounter against third tier outfit Hercules on Wednesday and one can be sure that the Catalan giants will be desperate to claim a big win on the night.
Here is the strongest possible Barcelona lineup for the clash against Hercules –
Goalkeeper
Jasper Cillessen has had to bide his time on the sidelines since his arrival to Barcelona this summer but the Dutch international finally looks set to be handed his opportunity in midweek against Hercules.
Cillessen will be hopeful of proving his worth to the Barcelona fans and will surely be targeting a clean sheet during the clash.
Defence
Barcelona’s backline has been shaky recently and it does look like the fringe players will be handed a chance on Wednesday night. There should be a very young looking central back pairing for the clash with Borja Lopez and Marlon expected to start at the heart of the defence.
Nili and Moises are contenders to start in the full back positions as well but it does look like Enrique will go with much more experienced options in Lucas Digne and Aleix Vidal on the wide areas.
Midfield
The likes of Ivan Rakitic, Sergio Busquets and Andre Gomes started during the weekend and it is expected that they will be rested on Wednesday. Andres Iniesta is also back in training but there is no way that the captain will be rushed back against Hercules.
Nonetheless, there are many options available for Enrique in Denis Suarez and Rafinha Alcantara while young Carles Alena is also widely expected to be given the nod to start.
Attack
Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi and Neymar are expected to be handed a rest on the night and the trio of Marc Cardona, Paco Alcacer and Arda Turan should start in their place.
The game is a big one for Alcacer in particular and it provides him with a great opportunity to end their terrible goal drought.
