FC Barcelona prepare themselves to take on Jose Luis Mendilibar’s resurgent Sevilla FC side at home in the Montjuic Stadium. The clash itself will be the eighth outing for both teams in the 2023/24 edition of La Liga EA Sports.
Xavi’s men currently sit in third position in the league standings, two points behind leaders Girona and one point behind arch-rivals Real Madrid. Mathematically, if Barcelona emerges victorious here, they go top of the league, at least temporarily. As a result, Xavi was already expected to field a strong lineup.
With close to an hour left to kick-off, FC Barcelona has released their official starting XI for the clash against Sevilla in what is expected to be a thrilling encounter.
Goalkeeper
For the Catalan giants, Marc Andre Ter Stegen starts in goal to defend the Barcelona net. The German international and captain of FC Barcelona will have his opportunity to redeem himself following his frustrating display against RCD Mallorca last time out on matchday seven.
Defense
In the defense, the left-back position is given to Spanish youngster Alejandro Balde, while the right-back position is set to be helmed by Portuguese star Joao Cancelo, as both of the two concerned fullbacks look to prove themselves as being threats to Sevilla.
The central regions of the defense are set to be defended by French defender Jules Kounde and Danish defender Andreas Christensen, with both Ronald Araujo and Inigo Martinez set to be rested for this league encounter.
Midfield
In the midfield, Gavi and Ilkay Gundogan make up the two midfielders in the starting eleven as the primary interiors of the team, while Xavi has chosen to deploy four forwards instead of the typically used three midfielders.
Attack
Lastly, the frontline sees Polish striker Robert Lewandowski return as the team’s central target man after having been initially put on the bench in the previous game. The other three attackers in the starting XI are Joao Felix, potentially as a second striker, as well as Lamine Yamal and Raphinha as the remaining forwards in the starting side put out by Xavi.