How will Barcelona line up against Real Sociedad in a huge La Liga clash?

After the insane 4-4 draw with Atlético Madrid in the first leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final tie, Barcelona had a few days to recover and are ready for their next La Liga test as they look to stay top of the table with another win, but three points will not come easy when the Blaugrana welcome Real Sociedad to the Montjuïc Olympic Stadium on Sunday night.

Barça are in the middle of a monster fixture list with one big game after another, and after this weekend’s game they travel to Lisbon for the first leg of their Champions League Round of 16 tie against Benfia which also promises to be a very difficult task.

But the focus for now should be on getting another win to stay in first place in the league table and continue to control the title race, but beating La Real is never easy and Barça must be ready for a tough evening.

Defense

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Barça’s coach will certainly have an eye on Wednesday’s clash in Portugal when selecting his team for this one while also trying to have a strong enough side to beat Sociedad, so the balancing act is definitely not easy for a manager who isn’t a fan of big rotations.

We don’t think he’ll make many changes, but we are predicting a couple at the back as Ronald Araujo and Gerard Martín could replace Pau Cubarsí and Alejandro Balde, with Jules Kounde and Iñigo Martínez retaining their spots in the back four in front of Wojciech Szczesny in goal.

Midfield

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Another change could come in midfield with Dani Olmo likely to be rested and saved for Lisbon, which would mean a start for Gavi who will be looking to rebound from a poor performance off the bench against Atlético.

Frenkie de Jong and Pedri will likely retain their spots in the double pivot, but don’t be surprise if one of them is rested and replaced by Marc Casadó.

Attack

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Robert Lewandowski did not play from the start against Atlético but came off the bench and scored, which certainly boosts his confidence for the games ahead in which he’ll certainly be called upon from the very beginning.

Both Raphinha and Lamine Yamal would definitely benefit from a rest right now but there’s very little depth on the wings, so their number will be called once again as they look to provide quality service against a very good Sociedad defense.

Possible XI: Szczesny; Kounde, Araujo, Iñigo, Martín; De Jong, Pedri; Yamal, Gavi, Raphinha; Lewandowski (4-2-3-1)