Barcelona boss Xavi Hernandez is getting more of his players back from injury now, and overall, his team’s fitness situation has vastly improved in the past couple of weeks. However, some of those stars are not 90 minutes full match fit yet, so he’ll still have some selection issues when he leads his side into Real Sociedad on the weekend.
Also, Xavi faces the challenges that come with such an emotional let down from last weekend.
FC Barcelona Preview Material at Real Sociedad: Team News Starting XI Prediction
Barca snatched defeat from the jaws of victory when they took on their bitterest of rivals, Real Madrid, in the first El Clasico of the season. Barcelona had a lead, and found themselves cruising midway through the second half when everything changed, via Jude Bellingham.
The English midfielder took over and put in a man of the match performance for his first ever Clasico. Now Xavi and company must shake that off, re-group, and make sure that Madrid doesn’t, proverbially, beat them twice. Because Real Sociedad are licking their chops at that potential opportunity.
Here below, we present what we believe to be the winning hand to write into the team sheet.
FC Barcelona Starting XI Prediction at Real Sociedad
Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Ronald Araujo, Andreas Christensen, Íñigo Martinez, Álex Balde, Ilkay Gündogan, Gavi, Fermín López, Joao Cancelo, Ferrán Torres, João Félix.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He’s written for numerous publications, including the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. He regularly appears on NTD News and WGN News Now. Follow the website on Twitter and Instagram.