Barcelona heavyweight could replace teenage prodigy in starting XI vs Elche | OneFootball

FC Barcelona will lock horns with Elche on Sunday, aiming to get back to winning ways after suffering a 2-1 loss to Real Madrid in their previous match.

The Catalans will go into the game without the services of key midfielder Pedri, who is injured, while Robert Lewandowski and Dani Olmo are back in contention for Hansi Flick.

So, there may be a possibility of a few changes being made to the starting XI tomorrow at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys.

Araujo in for Cubarsi

In fact, according to Mundo Deportivo, one of the changes that manager Flick is likely to make will be in defence, where Ronald Araujo is in line to start ahead of Pau Cubarsi.

In the final training session before the game, the German coach dropped hints about his selection, and he is likely to use nearly the same starting XI that faced Real Madrid, but without a couple of notable changes.

During the brief period when training was open to the media, after a brief talk and some physical drills, Flick divided the players into two rondos.

Cubarsi to make way for Araujo vs Elche. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

In the first were the starters from the Real Madrid match, with Araujo in for Cubarsi and Marc Casado replacing the injured Pedri.

Araujo has been left out on the bench for three games in a row since the international break, with the club captain featuring as a substitute against Girona, Olympiacos, and Real Madrid.

Cubarsi, who has been a permanent fixture in defence for Flick, missed a few group training sessions earlier this week as part of his workload management. As such, he could be given a breather against Elche tomorrow, with Araujo stepping in.

So, going by the indications in training, the Barcelona expected starting eleven vs Elche would be: Wojciech Szczesny; Jules Kounde, Araujo, Eric Garcia, Alejandro Balde; Frenkie de Jong, Casado; Lamine Yamal, Fermin Lopez, Marcus Rashford, and Ferran Torres.