Barcelona will look to keep their 100% record alive as they take on Espanyol in the hyped Catalan derby
For the past 30 years, Barcelona have been dominating Spain and therefore, Catalonia. Although both Valencia and Espanyol flourished during their prime, Barcelona still wears the crown of Catalonia.
Ernesto Valverde will be looking to reaffirm this. He has had a curious career in football, having played for both Barcelona and Espanyol, also having managed both teams. But he will attempt to truly make his mark on the Derby on 10th September.
The squad is not very fresh. Barcelona’s numerous Spain internationals, including Gerard Piqué, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba, Andrés Iniesta and Sergi Roberto. Piqué, Alba and Busquets starred in both the qualifiers. Therefore, they will not be in perfect shape.
Nonetheless, the lineup for the game will not be a weak one as Valverde knows the importance of the Catalan Derby. He was played in it for both sides and knows the tension surrounding the match from the inside.
The expected XI
Goalkeeper : Marc-André ter Stegen
Right-back : Nélson Semedo
Centre-back (left) : Samuel Umtiti
Centre-back (right) : Javier Mascherano
Left-back : Jordi Alba
Defensive midfielder : Paulinho
Playmaker (right) : Denis Suárez
Playmaker (left) : Andrés Iniesta (captain)
Left forward : Ousmane Dembélé
Centre-forward : Luis Suárez
Right-forward : Lionel Messi (vice-captain)
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While Gerard Piqué is not the player he once was, Javier Mascherano will need to step in and partner up with Samuel Umtiti in defence. Andrés Iniesta will probably captain the team once again as he played in just one qualifier for Spain, the 8-0 drubbing of Liechtenstein.
Also, Valverde should be resting Sergio Busquets for more important games and give Paulinho his first start. But Jordi Alba should retain his spot in the first-team as he has a lot of stamina. Ivan Rakitić should be missing out as he picked up a minor snag and Valverde would do better not to risk him.
But the biggest talking point in the starting XI is the inclusion of Ousmane Dembélé. The club had confirmed that Dembélé would be making his debut in the Catalan Derby when he was signed.
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But it remains to be seen if he can live up to his price tag of €105 million and join Ronaldinho, Romario, Diego Maradona, Johan Cruyff, Hristo Stoichkov and Rivaldo in the list of players who scored on their debut for Barcelona.