Raphinha And Christensen To Start | 3-4-1-2 Barcelona Predicted Lineup Vs Shakhtar Donetsk | OneFootball

Barcelona will face off against Shakhtar Donetsk at the Volksparkstadion as they look to secure all three points away from home in the UEFA Champions League. The Catalan club managed to secure a narrow 1-0 win away at Real Sociedad recently which will give them some confidence ahead of this game.

Xavi will set his team up in a 3-4-1-2 formation and is expected to make a couple of tweaks to his first XI for this game. Both Raphinha and Andreas Christensen will get a chance to play from the start of this contest.

3-4-1-2 Barcelona Predicted Lineup To Face Shakhtar Donetsk

Defence

Marc-Andre ter Stegen will feature in between the sticks for the Catalan club after keeping a clean sheet in his last league appearance. Xavi will opt for a back three of Ronald Araujo, Jules Kounde and Andreas Christensen for this game. All three of them need to defend their lines well if Barca want to secure a clean sheet on the road in midweek.

Inigo Martinez will offer cover for the centre-back positions on the bench.

Barcelona’s Portuguese forward #14 Joao Felix and Barcelona’s Spanish defender #03 Alejandro Balde gesture during the Spanish league football match between Real Sociedad and FC Barcelona at the Anoeta stadium in San Sebastian on November 4, 2023. (Photo by ANDER GILLENEA / AFP) (Photo by ANDER GILLENEA/AFP via Getty Images)

Midfield

Ilkay Gundogan and Gavi will anchor the midfield for the visitors as they try to establish their superiority over the opposition at the centre of the park. Alejandro Balde will fill in as the left wing-back while Joao Cancelo hopes to catch the eye on the right flank.

Raphinha will operate in the number ten position and would have to carry most of the creative workload for Barca in the opponent’s half.

Oriol Romeu would be named on the bench and might come on to influence the game in the second half if required. However, Frenkie de Jong is a major doubt for this game because of an ankle problem.

Attack

Joao Felix and Robert Lewandowski will lead the charge for the Catalan outfit in the final third. Both of them would be hungry to find the back of the net against Shakhtar in midweek.

Lamine Yamal and Ferran Torres will have to be content with a spot on the bench as they wait for their chance to shine in the final quarter of the game if Barca are in need of a goal by then.