Levante vs Barcelona: Expected Starting XI for Copa del Rey Round of 16 first leg
The Catalans continue their title defence against fellow top division side Levante.
Barcelona breezed past Cultural Leonesa with a 5-1 aggregate win and Ernesto Valverde used the matches to try out a number of periphery players and rest some of his key individuals. They currently lead the league by five points and were given an easy draw on paper against Lyon in the Champions League after finishing top of a tough group, so they are in a good place in all three competitions.
Levante squeezed past Lugo with two late goals in the second leg to make it 3-1 on aggregate. A recent poor run of form, including a 5-0 home loss to Barcelona, has seen them slide down the table so they currently occupy 10th spot, although they are the third highest goalscorers in the league with 30 goals.
Expected Starting XI (4-3-3)
Jasper Cillessen
Nelson Semedo, Jeison Murillo, Clement Lenglet, Juan Miranda
Arthur Melo, Sergio Busquets, Carles Alena
Ousmane Dembele, Malcom, Philippe Coutinho
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Heavy rotation should be expected for this match due to Barcelona’s congested fixture schedule over the next few weeks as well as this competition being the least of their priorities. The next few months is when the key players have usually started to become fatigued in previous seasons and that has cost the club later in the year. Therefore, Valverde needs to be effective with his rotation and there can be no excuse this season because Barcelona have a strong squad. The addition of Jeison Murillo helped fill the only glaring hole in the squad.
Moussa Wague is a potential option to play in the right-back spot after a string of good performances for the B side, but Valverde is likely to opt for the more experienced Semedo especially because he didn’t play against Getafe. Chumi is unlikely to be trusted against Levante even though he has performed well when called up this season.
Sergio Busquets is likely to return to the defensive midfield role, with Ivan Rakitic being rested by Valverde. Also, it’s a perfect opportunity to try Arthur and Alena alongside each other in central midfield. Their respective skillsets should complement each other well.
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This would usually be a game where Munir starts, however, his contract situation and the uncertainty over his future means he wasn’t included in the Getafe matchday squad and that’s unlikely to change for this match. Therefore, Malcom should start in the centre-forward position with Dembele and Coutinho either side of him. The Brazilian will be key in making runs in behind so that the opposition defence is stretched vertically and the other two forwards can receive the ball to feet in space.