The time has come for FC Barcelona to take on Almeria in their final official game of the year. La Liga has not been kind to La Blaugrana this season, and this match is their last chance in 2023 to turn things around. Despite the struggles, Xavi’s Barcelona remains a relentless side working to improve upon their performances.
Ahead of the match itself, the official squad list revealed a great deal of youngsters being included in the match. Moreover, the official starting eleven for the game has now been released and several young stars have been given the opportunity to make their mark.
Given how much Barcelona has already struggled in the league this season, Xavi needed to make sure no chances were taken against Almeria. Positioned at the bottom of La Liga, the visitors are presenting Barcelona with an opportunity to improve on their points accumulation for the season.
In goal, Xavi has trusted the services of Inaki Pena once again to keep Almeria at bay. The Spaniard has taken over the space left vacant by the injured Marc Andre Ter Stegen. Moreover, he has done pretty well with it thus far. He will just be hoping that he can keep Almeria from thwarting the Barça goal too much.
Ahead of Pena, the central defenders guarding the goal are Andreas Christensen and Ronald Araujo. The Dane and Uruguayan will both be expected to keep Almeria away from the Barcelona goal as much as possible. Moreover, they have two dependable fullbacks to rely on.
On the left flank, Alejandro Balde holds his flank by himself. He will be hoping to use his speed and creativity to cause problems for Almeria. In the right-back position, Joao Cancelo will be hoping to add both creativity to the attack and solidity to the defense.
Ahead of them in the midfield, Ilkay Gundogan retains his position in the starting eleven as the holding midfielder. In front of him, Sergi Roberto and Fermin Lopez start as the primary central midfielders for the team. This trio aims to facilitate smooth transitions between defense and offense as frequently as possible.
Lastly, the frontline sees Robert Lewandowski continue as the team’s primary target man. On his left, Joao Felix starts after scoring the only goal for Barcelona in the last outing against Valencia. Over on the right, Brazilian winger Raphinha completes the attacking trident.
