Real Valladolid vs Barcelona: Predicted starting XI for Quique Setien

Jordi Alba and Lionel Messi of FC Barcelona. (Photo by LLUIS GENE / AFP) (Photo by LLUIS GENE/AFP via Getty Images)
Jordi Alba and Lionel Messi of FC Barcelona. (Photo by LLUIS GENE / AFP) (Photo by LLUIS GENE/AFP via Getty Images)
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Luis Suarez of FC Barcelona. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)
Luis Suarez of FC Barcelona. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)

The front three is all but set at this point with Antoine Griezmann coming back into the fold and putting in some good performances the last couple of games.

Setien has mentioned that he wants to have the likes of Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi out on the pitch so both are also more than likely to start. The Uruguayan scored the lone goal in the Espanyol match and has been on a decent run of form.

Ansu Fati picked up a red card so he is suspended. Should he want to give Suarez a rest, Martin Braithwaite is available. The stoppage has probably done him the most damage as it gave Suarez time to heal and he has not featured as much as he would have hoped when brought in from Leganes.

Again, if the manager wants to treat this as both a game and to try out some things before the Champions League resumes, then Griezmann-Suarez-Messi should start. They seem to be understanding themselves better and they are going to need to build upon that for their pending match against Napoli.

What we’ve seen from their away matches recently is they tend to start off well with a lot of possession but can’t seem to find that final pass to create a goal scoring opportunity.

They played very well against Villarreal where that possession led to opportunities that were then turned into goals. They will try to emulate that and take care of business and try to win it out and hope that Real Madrid stumble.