How will Barcelona line up against Real Sociedad?

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Ronald Koeman’s men take on the league leaders

Barcelona face a really tough test on Wednesday in La Liga as league leaders Real Sociedad visit the Camp Nou.

Ronald Koeman’s men got back to winning ways last time out against Levante but made hard work of it and weren’t entirely convincing.

A win over Real Sociedad would be a big boost but it won’t be easy. Imanol Alguacil’s side have only been beaten once so far this season and have seven wins from their 13 games.

Let’s look at how Barcelona might line up:

Defense

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It’s hard to see Koeman making many, if any, changes to his defense unless he decides any of his players need a breather as the game does fall in the middle of a busy schedule.

Samuel Umtiti, Junior Firpo, and Oscar Mingueza are all available to come in if needed, although it looks like Koeman will stick with the same backline that kept a clean sheet against Levante.

Midfield

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Koeman might make changes further forward and probably needs to with his team once again leaving too much space in midfield against Levante. Rather bizarrely Miralem Pjanic has made only one La Liga start so far but could come into the reckoning on Wednesday.

Frenkie de Jong looks set to continue after a bright showing against Levante which could mean Sergio Busquets is benched. Carles Alena is another option but seems to have been forgotten about again recently.

Attack

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Lionel Messi struck the only goal of the game last time out but Koeman will need more from his attack against Real Sociedad. Pedri could come back into the starting XI after coming off the bench last time out.

The lack of width remains a problem, with Ansu Fati and Ousmane Dembele out, but it seems unlikely Konrad de la Fuente or Francisco Trincao will start. Riqui Puig is another player fans would love to see but probably won’t.

Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann look certain starters, while Martin Braithwaite could also continue in attack with Philippe Coutinho dropping down to the bench.

Possible XI: Ter Stegen; Dest, Araujo, Lenglet; Alba; Pjanic, De Jong; Messi, Griezmann, Pedri; Braithwaite.

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

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