Barcelona will be facing Eibar in the final match of the 2020/21 La Liga season on Saturday, May 22, six days after losing 2-1 to Celta Vigo at Camp Nou.
Here's how we expect Ronald Koeman to line up against the already relegated Basque side based on his team's performance against the Galicians.
Goalkeeper
Marc-Andre ter Stegen is out with a knee injury, so we are likely to see second-choice goalkeeper Neto play from the start. Although Inaki Pena might be deserving of a first-team debut, the coach is likely to bet on Neto's experience since Barca can still slip up to fourth place if they fail to beat Eibar, and Sevilla win their match.
Defence
In defence, Clement Lenglet is suspended, while Gerard Pique is likely to be benched after his atrocious outing against Celta. In their place, Oscar Mingueza (who will return after helping out Barcelona B in the promotion play-offs) and Samuel Umtiti are likely to get the nod. Finally, Ronald Araujo should retain his place in the starting XI unless he suffers yet another relapse.
Wings
Ousmane Dembele is doing fine in the wing-back position since he has more free space to operate in. He has been better than Sergino Dest going forward and didn't show any weaknesses in terms of defence. As for the left side, there hasn't been much competition for Jordi Alba spot, and unless Koeman decides to rotate a bit, the veteran should play from the start again.
Midfield
Frenkie de Jong has served his suspension and should return straight to the starting XI because Barca do need the three points, so it would make little sense benching him. Sergio Busquets was one of the few bright spots against the Celts, especially in the first half, so there's no reason for him not to start again.
As for the third spot in midfield, Pedri seems exhausted and there have even been reports that he might leave on an early vacation. Riqui Puig looked decent in the 45 minutes he played on the weekend, while Ilaix Moriba — who played from the start — didn't show much, so maybe the 21-year-old will be finally rewarded with a start.
Attack
In the few minutes they spent on the pitch against Celta, neither Martin Braithwaite nor Francisco Trincao showed anything substantial. Leo Messi and Antoine Griezmann should be expected to form the attacking duo once again.
Starting XI: Neto - Mingueza, Araujo, Umtiti - Dembele, De Jong, Busquets, Puig, Alba - Messi, Griezmann.
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Alba: The players are at fault for the bad results, not the coach
"The players, we're to blame when things go badly. We tried today, above all in the first half, but Celta are a good team and it was hard. That's football. It's a shame to lose," Jordi Alba told reporters after the Celta Vigo loss, as quoted by Diario Sport.
"We have to give value to the Copa del Rey but it's true that it's now a lot of games without winning. We depended on ourselves, we'd done the hard work, cutting back all those points, and we didn't then take advantage by going top."
Barcelona had the chance to leapfrog the competitors in the league in the match against Granada. Unfortunately, the match ended in a 2-1 loss for the Catalans. Since then, Ronald Koeman's men recorded a win, two draws and a loss, and are now officially out of the league race.
Koeman reacts to Barca defeat to Celta, gets asked about future amid exit rumours
"We wasted a chance to take the lead against Granada, and today we lost in a similar way," Ronald Koeman said following the 2-1 defeat to Celta.
The disappointing result will inevitably stoke up the talks of the Dutchman's future at the club. However, it's not something he's ready to discuss now.
"That is not a question for me," he simply said.
