Welcome back, La Liga! The Spanish league is upon us once again, and this should be a very fun season. Atlético Madrid look incredibly strong, Real Madrid have a new manager and Barcelona have also strengthened in their quest to defend their title. Last season was close to being memorable with the first-ever Invincible campaign in La Liga history, but Barça still broke plenty of records and were very dominant in their title run.
The Catalan giants now look to not only defend their championship, but play better while doing so. That was the big criticism of Ernesto Valverde last season, and this seems to be the manager’s goal for this campaign. Starting with Alavés isn’t the easiest of games, but it’s not that tough either. Barça can definitely make a statement in this one, and it could be the start of a beautiful season.
The first-team is expected to start in the La Liga season opener. With Marc-André ter Stegen, Sergi Roberto would replace Nélson Semedo at right-back. Gerard Piqué retains his spot in the starting lineup, as world champion Samuel Umtiti returns to replace compatriot Clément Lenglet.
At left-back, Jordi Alba makes a long-awaited return, replacing his successor, Juan Miranda, who started in the Joan Gamper Trophy. In central midfield, Ivan Rakitić should be given precedence over Rafinha, mainly due to his good performances for Croatia in Russia.
Sergio Busquets should be retained, along with Ousmane Dembélé, who has shown signs of his brilliance in pre-season. On the left, Philippe Coutinho should start. While up top, the famed South American duo of Leo Messi and Luis Suárez will be starting.
The likes of Malcom and Arturo Vidal could be in for an appearance off the bench, while Arthur can also be tested by a substitution for Sergio Busquets. But overall, the starting lineup against Alavés is expected to be very strong.
Barcelona team news: Denis Suarez, Carles Aleñá (out, injury)
Alavés team news: Rodrigo Ely (out, injury), Adrián Diéguez (out, suspension)
POSSIBLE LINEUPS
Barcelona (4-3-3): Ter Stegen; Roberto, Piqué, Umtiti, Alba; Rakitic, Busquets, Coutinho; Messi, Suárez, Dembélé
Alavés (4-4-2): Pacheco; Aguirregabiria, Navarro, Laguardia, Duarte; Jony, García, Wakaso, Gómez; Sobrino, Guidetti
Venue: Camp Nou, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
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