FC Barcelona will be clashing against Napoli at the Camp Nou and it will be a do or die knockout match which has to be won to keep its reputation alive, after losing the La Liga title to the Los Blancos. Also, this will be an important match for Quique Setien, who has to prove his worth in the Champions League by guiding the team or else his job might be terminated at the end of this season.
So, Sport has predicted a possible Barcelona starting XI for this upcoming important clash and said that Setien will form a 3-5-2 lineup and is not impossible considering how dynamic the Cantabrian coach is with his strategy. Sport has said so because they have spotted Quique Setién was testing various ideas on the pitch of the Ciudad Deportiva Joan Gamper.
Most likely, Setien will be testing the 3-5-2 approach that he already used in the beginning. In their prediction, the backline would be formed by Lenglet on the left, Piqué in the center, and Semedo on the right flank. Setien will use Sergi Roberto and Jordi Alba as the wing-backs to provide the width, whereas De Jong, Rakitic, and Riqui Puig will form the midfield as both Vidal and Busquets will be out for suspension.
Leo Messi and Luis Suárez will be sole attackers on the pitch supported by the creative midfielders like De Jong and Puig who can pair up with both the attackers to break the stubborn Napoli defense. Sports also reckons that Setien will change the lineup eventually as the game progresses to 4-4-2 where positions of Jordi Alba will be shift to defense Napoli.
Now coming to Mundo Deportivo‘s starting XI, here they say Setien will use the same tactics as they did with the away game against Villarreal – a 4-3-3 formation but there will be trident formation by Messi, Saurez and Griezmann, where the Frenchman could be the false 9 passing the ball to Saurez and Messi to finish or Messi could do the same to both of the others.
This has given Setien the best result so far and after that match, only Griezmann got an injury and so this trident formation was never tested anymore. Griezmann showed his best version ever at La Cerámica and its actually his natural role back he used to play at Atletico, as he is not a natural winger.
MD says the back four in defense will be the same four i.e. Jordi Alba on the left flank, Lenglet on the left-center, Piqué in the right-center, and Semedo on the right flank. Whereas the midfield will be formed by De Jong, Rakitic and Sergi Roberto where Rakitic will be the key man in defense to fill Busquets’s role.
They also reckon that Riqui Puig will be a key substitute who will be the fresh leg so that Barcelona does not lack the energy in the dying minutes as Napoli will heavily be reliant on counter-attacks. Undoubtedly, Ter Stegan will be the leading goalkeeper for both starting lineups and provided his form, he will be the key man to stop Napoli’s offensive threats and pass the ball among its players.
What do you think about both the lineups? Tell us in the comments down below… 😉
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