As hip-hop group The Luniz told us in the mid-90s, “I got 5 on it.” That has been the theme for FC Barcelona this week, as they rolled their arch-rivals in an El Clasico Spanish Super Cup final, 5-2 on Sunday.
After whooping Real Madrid 5-2 to claim the first trophy of the Hansi Flick era, Barca then put another 5 on it, this time against Real Betis in the Copa Del Rey. That match ended 5-1, just a few hours ago.
Now the focus shifts back to the league, and a trip to 15th place Getafe. Barca need to get all three points here, without a doubt, because they are falling back in the La Liga race.
After being top of the table for most of the term, they are now third, behind both Madrid clubs. They currently sit six points adrift.
Although it’s worth noting that they won the first league El Clasico this season, back on Oct. 26, and that was on the road too. That result looks even more huge now.
FC Barcelona Team Newsย
Barcelona will be withoutย Andreas Christensen,ย Marc Bernal,ย Inigo Martinezย andย Marc-Andre ter Stegenย who are all sidelined with injury.
So with all that said, let’s take a look at what the 4-2-3-1 starting formation could be here.
We based this on the squad rotation from the starting lineup that crushed Betis earlier today.
In fact, maybe we even overdid the idea of rotation here, as we looked at all the subs Hansi Flick made, and then implemented those changes into our first team.
FC Barcelona Starting XI Prediction at Getafe
Inaki Pena; Jules Kounde, Eric Garcia, Pau Cubarsi, Gerard Martin; Fermin Lopez, Pau Victor; Pablo Torre, Frenkie de Jong, Ferran Torres; Robert Lewandowski
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. Heโs also the author of โTransatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,โ and โNo, I Canโt Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.โ
He currently contributes to USA Todayโs NFL Wires Network, the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.