Possible Barça line-up against Athletic in the Cup

FC Barcelona will travel to San Mamés to face Athletic in the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey. It will be a really great game because Barça have regained their feeling and good performance in many stages of the match against Betis. Benito Villamarin and Athletic, despite the defeat to Valencia, have perhaps the most complete team in all of La Liga. Valverde’s team played 14 games without defeat.

While Xavi has not yet ruled out the possibility of playing for La Liga, he is fully aware that confirming the title is very difficult and that a large part of his chances of winning something this season lies in the Copa del Rey, where Barca are the undisputed dominant force in the league. . competition.

Athletic will not make their task easier, and even less so in San Mamés. The Barcelona team has not achieved good results in recent seasons at this stadium. Haven’t won since the 2015-2016 season. and in the last singles matches Barca were eliminated. In the 2019-2020 season, Athletic won with a single goal from Iñaki Williams (1-0), in the quarter-finals and in the 2021-2022 season they did it in extra time (3-2).

Exactly because of this reason Xavi Hernandez could restore the formula of four midfielders, try to have more control over the game and avoid Bilbao’s quick transitions.. The good news for Barca is that Cancelo is back for this match. The Portuguese and Christensen were included in the squad, and the Barca coach admitted they would have plenty of minutes. In fact, Cancelo has many starting options.

Iñaki Pena will play in goal, Cancelo and Balde on the sides, and Kounde and Araujo in the center. Sergi Roberto could come into the center of the field, accompanying Frenkie de Jong, Pedri and Gundogan, the three untouchables.. Lewandowski will be accompanied up front by Ferran Torres, who is in excellent form and will secure a draw after scoring a hat-trick. Lamin Yamal and Joao Felix will remain on the flanks as attackers, while Vitor Roque and Marc Guiu as an alternative to the Pole in the center of attack.

FC Barcelona squad: Iñaki Peña; Cancelo, Kounde, Araujo, Balde, Frenkie de Jong, Gundogan, Pedri, Sergi Roberto, Ferran Torres and Lewandowski.