Kounde, de Jong start in a 4-3-3: How Barcelona could line up against Real Madrid

For the first time in several years, Spanish football fans could be in for a proper title race as Barcelona and Real Madrid go head-to-head. Both teams have enjoyed unbeaten starts to the new campaign and will face off in the first of potentially a few title deciders tomorrow.

The Santiago Bernabeu is set to host Barcelona for the first El Clasico of the season for gameweek nine, and the two sides are coming off fairly different games.

It is true that both the titans only managed a draw in their last game – in the Champions League, but in extremely different contexts.

Barça’s 3-3 tie against Inter Milan essentially rules them out of the competition, while Madrid’s 1-1 stalemate away to Shakhtar Donetsk keeps their unbeaten run across all competitions alive.

Ahead of the game, the Catalans will not be in high spirits. Xavi will have to make a fair few changes to his starting lineup, and we predict he will not shy away from some risks.

Starters

Marc-Andre ter Stegen is the first name on the team sheet, there are no two ways about it. The German has been in fantastic form all season, masking Barcelona’s less-than-convincing defence.

Things get a bit messy as we predict the backline screening ter Stegen tomorrow. Following Gerard Pique’s abysmal performance on Wednesday, there is little to no chance he will retain his spot against his favourite rivals.

We expect him to be replaced by Marcos Alonso in the heart of the defence, as Eric Garcia‘s partner. The former put in an underwhelming shift against Celta Vigo last weekend but will not be able to escape with a clean sheet this time if he is anything but flawless.

Alejandro Balde should come in at left-back after being dropped from the XI vs Inter. The teenager has not put a foot wrong all season, but keeps getting benched in important games. He will likely have a chance to prove Xavi wrong tomorrow.

Finally, we expect Jules Kounde to slot back in immediately in the back-four. His absence was evident in all games after the international break, but he has been given the medical green light to travel to the capital. His 1v1 battle vs Vinicius could potentially decide the game tomorrow.

Along with Pique, it is difficult to overlook Sergio Busquets’ poor second-half display. Frenkie de Jong will get the nod to replace him as the defensive midfielder tomorrow, especially after his impressive cameo in the UCL.

We will likely see the Dutchman anchor partners in crime – Pedri and Gavi. The latter, especially, has been played into the ground this season, but as October goes on, the chances of him being benched keep getting slimmer.

Robert Lewandowski pulled Barcelona back from the brink twice in the previous game, and will, at the very least, want to continue his exceptional form in a bid to win the Pichichi trophy.

As it stands, Raphinha and Ousmane Dembele should get Xavi’s approval to start as the wingers, ideally on the right and left, respectively.

Dembele · Lewandowski · Raphinha
Gavi · de Jong · Pedri
Balde · Alonso · Garcia · Kounde
ter Stegen

Substitutes

Ansu Fati and Ferran Torres have been getting ample chances, but fail to leave a sustainable mark on the attack. Therefore, even as Dembele and Raphinha continue to be unimaginative, they remain the first-choice wingers.

Either way, they will almost definitely get minutes off the bench, especially if Barcelona are chasing the game.

Franck Kessie is a default substitute at this point, and could replace one of Gavi or Pedri to add more grit to the centre of the park.

Sergi Roberto would could be involved off-the-bench, too, with his inverted right-back role helping Barcelona overload the midfield.

Finally, we cannot rule out some minutes for Sergio Busquets, that is, if he does not start.

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