Xavi is faced with a number of significant injuries in his Barcelona squad ahead of their return to La Liga action against Athletic Club on Sunday night.
Jules Kounde and Sergi Roberto are the two latest additions to Barca's injury list which already included Robert Lewandowski, Frenkie de Jong, Raphinha and Pedri. The side hasn't looked as fluent in their collective absence but the Blaugrana can ill afford any more slip-ups before El Clasico at the end of the month.
Barca will want a stronger start to this fixture than they managed against Granada before the October international break, when they fell behind in the first minute and were two goals down after half an hour. Strikes from Lamine Yamal and Sergi Roberto helped Barca escape Andalusia with a point.
Here's the side Xavi could pick to get Barcelona back to winning ways.
Barcelona predicted lineup vs Athletic Club (4-3-3)
GK: Marc-Andre ter Stegen - Barca's undisputed number one conceded three goals in two appearances for Germany during the international break.
RB: Joao Cancelo - Received the recent backing of president Joan Laporta, who said Barca would try to sign him alongside namesake Joao Felix "if they continue playing like this".
CB: Andreas Christensen - Has admitted his annoyance at Jude Bellingham's electric start at Real Madrid and will get the chance to silence the England star in the Clasico after the clash with Athletic.
CB: Ronald Araujo - Has only featured in five Barca games due to a hamstring problem but will be needed to plug the gap left by Kounde's injury.
LB: Alejandro Balde - Suffered a hamstring injury during Spain's Euro 2024 qualifier with Scotland but Barca hope he will recover in time.
CM: Ilkay Gundogan - Has started all but one of Barca's league games this season and his experience and goal threat from midfield may prove crucial against Athletic.
CM: Oriol Romeu - Now a regular in the Barca lineup but is still chasing a maiden Spain appearance, with the nation's riches in midfield leaving him cap-less in his career so far.
CM: Gavi - Has committed 25 fouls in La Liga this season, second only to Getafe's Juanmi Latasa. They each have three yellow cards.
RW: Lamine Yamal - Missed Spain duty with a muscle problem but was seen training during the week and should pull through.
ST: Ferran Torres - The forward given the unenviable task of supplying goals in Lewandowski's absence. Couldn't get on the scoresheet in La Roja's games against Scotland and Norway.
LW: Joao Felix - Started his Barca loan in impeccable form but has since gone four club games without a goal contribution. Scored and assisted for Portugal in their win over Bosnia and Herzegovina.
READ THE LATEST BARCELONA NEWS, TRANSFER RUMOURS & GOSSIP
This article was originally published on 90min as Barcelona predicted lineup vs Athletic Club - La Liga.
