Unlike La Liga, FC Barcelona has played up to expectations (maybe even surpassing them) in the Champions League this season. A dominant 4-0 win over Dynamo Kiev last week with a group of second string players checks all the boxes for a successful week for Ronald Koeman.
With the win in Ukraine, Koeman was able to once again leave Lionel Messi at home, with Marc-Andre ter Stegen joining him this time around. Ronald Araújo is still working his way back to fitness and Samuel Umtiti will be playing a friendly with Barcelona B to try to find his legs.
With Gerard Piqué and Sergi Roberto sidelined, Clement Lenglet and his healing ankle made the trip, as did Sergiño Dest, who played against Osasuna with a knock and was substituted in the second half. Frenkie de Jong and Sergio Busquets also made the trip instead of being rested, but expect at least one of them in the starting line-up.
Choosing starters becomes difficult when considering which players Koeman wants to give minutes to and which regulars he hopes will continue to produce. It would be ideal if Antoine Griezmann, de Jong, Busquets, Dest and Jordi Alba were only used in the second half, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see most of them in the starting line-up out of a desire to blend regulars with bench players. While he is still only 18, Pedri should be on that list as well, being the only player to have played in every game so far.
The tough choice that Koeman has is at centre-back. Lenglet shouldn’t have to start, but that would most likely mean that de Jong is starting at centre-back – or Junior Firpo starts at centre-back, which means Alba starts. Koeman’s choice as to who will partner Óscar Mingueza is the domino to lay out the rest of the line-up.
It’s asking a bit much that Koeman would give starts to players that have been on the fringes all season long. I would try to rest as many of the above players as possible, letting Riqui Puig start in the attacking middle spot and Carles Aleñá in the double pivot. Trincão, who has yet to get a goal for the club, would start on the right. Konrad de la Fuente, after a terrific showing against Lleida last weekend that included a goal, is the best fit to start on the left.
In net, Arnau Tenas started against Lleida, making Iñaki Peña a prime candidate to start against Ferencvaros. If he performs well, the club will potentially be able to field offers for Neto. I don’t know if I’d go so far as to give a start to Matheus Fernandes when Miralem Pjanić didn’t play against Osasuna.
As much as Alba needs a rest, I would start Junior at centre-back to rest Lenglet, making the backline Alba-Junior-Mingueza-Dest. That way the option to bring on Lenglet is still available.
Martin Braithwaite, with three goals in his last two games, should continue to start and hopefully continue to score goals. With this starting line-up, Ousmane Dembélé and Matheus should be the first two off the bench.
Predicted XI: Neto; Junior, Lenglet, Mingueza, Dest; Pjanić, Busquets; Dembélé, Pedri, Trincão; Braithwaite
My XI: Peña, Alba, Junior, Mingueza, Dest; Pjanić, Aleñá; Konrad, Puig, Trincão; Braithwaite
Dan Hilton is an American journalist, broadcaster, and current Editor-in-Chief of BarcaBlog. Extensive work as a play-by-play broadcaster, producer behind the scenes, and quite average player in his younger years has given him a well-rounded and informative perspective on the sport. Alongside BarcaBlog founder Francesc, Dan started The Barcelona Podcast in 2017.
