Riqui Puig And Coutinho To Start | 4-3-3 Barcelona Predicted Lineup Vs Rayo Vallecano | OneFootball

Barcelona will lock horns with Rayo Vallecano on Wednesday evening as they look to bounce back from their Clasico defeat last weekend. The Catalans giants were beaten by a 2-1 scoreline at home versus Real Madrid last weekend, so they will be eager to respond in a good manner in La Liga later this week.

Ronald Koeman could once again set his team up in a 4-3-3 formation and is expected to make a few changes to his first XI for this game. The likes of Riqui Puig and Philippe Coutinho will probably get the nod to start as Koeman has to cope without Frenkie de Jong who will be sidelined because of a hamstring injury.

4-3-3 Barcelona Predicted Lineup To Face Rayo Vallecano

Defence

Marc-André ter Stegen will feature in between the sticks for Barca after conceding two goals against Los Blancos in his last outing. Gerard Pique might continue to play alongside Eric Garcia at the heart of the Barca backline as they try to keep things solid at the back throughout the 90 minutes.

Sergiño Dest will operate at right-back while Jordi Alba fills in on the other side as the left-back. Both of them will have to be at their best if they are to create some meaningful chances for their teammates to score in the final third.

Sergi Roberto and Samuel Umtiti will offer cover for the defensive positions on the bench.

BARCELONA, SPAIN – OCTOBER 24: Memphis Depay of FC Barcelona reacts during the La Liga Santander match between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid CF at Camp Nou on October 24, 2021, in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

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Midfield

Riqui Puig, Sergio Busquets and Gavi will make up Koeman’s midfield as they try to focus on establishing their dominance over the opposition at the centre of the park. All three of them will have to engineer some decent chances for the front players if Barca are to come out on top in this midweek league game.

As mentioned earlier, Frenkie de Jong won’t be available for selection, so Nico Gonzalez can expect to start on the bench but might come on to make an impact in the second 45 minutes if needed.

Attack

Ansu Fati will hope to impress from the left flank while Philippe Coutinho gets a chance to put in a productive performance on the right. Memphis Depay will once again get the responisbility to spearhead Koeman’s attack down the middle.

Sergio Aguero scored Barca’s only goal in the Clasico. Hence, we can expect the Argentine striker to be eager to find the back of the net if he comes off the bench in midweek.