How will Barcelona line up against Valencia in La Liga?

After a painful El Clásico defeat to end their defense of the La Liga title last weekend, Barcelona now focus on securing second place when they welcome Valencia to the Montjuïc Olympic Stadium for a rare Monday night game.

The full week of rest and training brought big news off the pitch as Xavi Hernández reversed his decision to leave in the summer and will remain the first team manager next season, and his job now is to ensure Barça finish above Girona in the table to earn extra prize money that will help the coach shape the squad in his image for the 2024-25 campaign.

Valencia are looking for a strong finish to the season and are still dreaming of a place in Europe, and an upset in the Catalan capital will be a major boost for one of Spain’s most traditional clubs.

Here’s how we think Xavi will line up his troops for Monday’s battle.

Defense

Sadly there are no Champions League commitments in the next two weeks and Barça had seven full days to recover from a demanding Clásico, so the coach can field his strongest possible lineup in this one.

Even though João Cancelo’s form has fallen off a cliff in recent weeks the Portuguese full-back is likely to remain in the starting lineup for this one, starting at left-back with Jules Kounde, Ronald Araujo and Pau Cubarsí completing the back four. Cancelo wants a permament move to Barça next season, and the final six games will be a big audition for João as he looks to convince the club to spend considerable money to sign him this summer.

Midfield

The season-ending injury to Frenkie de Jong in Madrid makes the midfield selection for this one pretty simple: Andreas Christensen and Pedri will form the double pivot in possession, with Ilkay Gündogan playing further forward as a number 10 in this three-midfielder setup.

Fermín López — who scored in the Clásico to continue his excellent form — and captain Sergi Roberto are the two main options in midfield off the bench, but they’re unlikely to start this one.

Attack

At this point of the season there are very little doubts about Barça’s starting front three: Lamine Yamal on the right, Raphinha on the left and Robert Lewandowski through the middle. It is true that Lewandowski has not played well in the last couple of games, but the Pole is still the best goalscorer in the team and will likely start every match until the end of the season.

The attack is pretty healthy at the moment with Ferran Torres, João Félix, Vitor Roque and Marc Guiu all available and ready for a chance, but it’s unlikely we see any of them starting on Monday.

Possible XI: Ter Stegen; Kounde, Araujo, Cubarsí, Cancelo; Christensen, Pedri; Yamal, Gündogan, Raphinha; Lewandowski (4-2-3-1)

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