How will Barcelona line up against Ferencvaros?

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Changes in store with qualification assured?

Barcelona take on Ferencvaros in the Champions League on Wednesday but go into the game with the pressure off as they are already through to the knockout stages.

Ronald Koeman is therefore expected to rotate his squad again in order to rest key stars and allow some of his fringe players some game time.

Let’s look at who might feature on Wednesday in Hungary.

Defence

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Koeman has real problems in defence with Gerard Pique, Clement Lenglet, Samuel Umtiti, Ronald Araujo, and Sergi Roberto all injured and unavailable for this one.

There’s an outside chance Araujo could be passed fit for the trip but there’s no point risking the Uruguay international who is returning from a hamstring injury.

All of which is good news for Oscar Mingueza who should start for the third game in a row for Barcelona. Frenkie de Jong seems the most likely option to partner him at center-back.

Sergino Dest shrugged off a knock to feature against Osasuna and should continue at right-back, while Junior Firpo could get more minutes at left-back in order to give Jordi Alba a breather.

Midfield

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Miralem Pjanic should come back into the team after dropping back down to the bench for Sunday’s La Liga win. The midfielder has started all four of Barca’s Champions League matches and looks set to continue that run.

Sergio Busquets could return to the starting XI after making his return from injury as a half-time substitute against Osasuna, although Carles Alena will be hoping he’s done enough recently to get the nod.

Attack

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Koeman’s choice of attack will be interesting given he has a wealth of options and his team have scored eight times without reply in their last two matches against Dynamo Kiev and Osasuna.

Martin Braithwaite could start again after scoring three times in his last two outings, while players such as Ousmane Dembele, Francisco Trincao, and Riqui Puig will be hoping for a start.

Much will depend on who Koeman fancies taking a look at and which senior stars he wants to rest. Given the team are in the midst of a hectic schedule it’s likely that Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann could get the night off.

Possible XI: Ter Stegen; Dest, Mingueza, De Jong, Junior; Pjanic, Alena; Dembele, Pedri, Coutinho; Braithwaite.

How do you think Barcelona will line up against Ferencvaros? Let us know your thoughts, predictions and teams in the comments below!

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