Olmo, Ferran start in a 4-2-3-1 – How Barcelona can line up against Inter Milan | OneFootball

The big games keep on coming one after the other for FC Barcelona as they get set to take on Inter Milan tonight in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-finals.

Coming into the game high on confidence after winning the Copa del Rey by beating Real Madrid, Barcelona will be eager to gain an advantage at home tonight before the second leg in Italy next week.

The fact that Inter Milan are experiencing their lowest moment of the season – a run of three consecutive losses in all competitions without any goals scored – stacks the odds in favour of the Blaugrana.

However, Hansi Flick will be without key players Robert Lewandowski and Alejandro Balde through injury while Marc Casado, Marc Bernal, and Marc-Andre ter Stegen will also be unavailable, the latter because he is not registered in the competition.

In what could be one of their biggest tests of the season, here’s how Flick can set his Barcelona team up against Simone Inzaghi’s tight-knit unit at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys.

Defence

Wojciech Szczesny will continue as the starting goalkeeper in the UEFA Champions League for Barcelona with Marc-Andre ter Stegen not being registered in the competition.

Meanwhile, Jules Kounde, the hero of the Copa del Rey final is a lock-in in the right-back position while Pau Cubarsi is also a certain starter at the heart of the defence.

The absence of Alejandro Balde opens up a couple of possibilities for Flick in the left-back position, one of which could be putting Inigo Martinez in the position like he did in the latter stages of the cup final last week.

Martin to continue at left-back. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)

However, Gerard Martin is likely to retain his position on the left side of the backline while Inigo will partner Cubarsi at the centre, meaning Ronald Araujo misses out again.

Midfield

Pedri produced another masterful display against Real Madrid on Saturday and will hold the key for Barcelona tonight against Inter.

The Spanish international will continue to be paired up with Frenkie de Jong in Barcelona’s double pivot in the centre of the park as they get set to tackle Inter’s trifecta of Hakan Calhanoglu, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, and Nicolo Barella.

Dani Olmo has recently returned from an injury and has started the last two games. However, given the importance of the clash, he is once again expected to get the nod over Fermin Lopez and Gavi as the attacking midfielder.

Attack

The absence of Robert Lewandowski leaves very little room to manoeuvre for Hansi Flick as far as his attacking unit is concerned.

As such, Ferran Torres ought to line up in the No. 9 position again tonight, flanked by the dynamic duo of Lamine Yamal and Raphinha, with the latter needing to step up after a slightly off-colour display against Real Madrid.