Barcelona possible starting lineup against PSG in the Champions League

Dutch midfielder Frenkie de Jong looks likely to be available to play for Barcelona against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Wednesday having recovered from the ankle sprain which forced him off against Athletic Club at the beginning of March. The former Ajax man hasn’t suffered any setbacks after coming through his first full training session unscathed on Saturday. As a result, Xavi Hernández looks set to give him a starting role at the Parc des Princes.

Possible Barça XI to play against PSG

Ter Stegen; Koundé, Araújo, Cubarsí, Cancelo; Christensen, De Jong; Lamine, Gündogan, Raphinha; Lewandowski.

Xavi’s potential Barça lineup for the clash in France contains a blend of youth and experience, with three players over the age of 30 (Marc-André Ter Stegen, Ilkay Gündogan and Robert Lewandowski) and two teenagers (Pau Cubarsí and Lamine Yamal).

The other six are somewhere in between (Jules Koundé and Ronald Araújo are 25, Frenkie De Jong is 26, Raphinha 27 and João Cancelo 30). Andreas Christensen, meanwhile, celebrates his 28th birthday on the day of the game.

Changes could, however, still be made to the above lineup, with Xavi likely to make a final decision based on the pre-game training session on Tuesday.

Cubarsí expected to start in Barcelona back four

It would be a surprise to see any variations of that back four, with Araújo seemingly no longer in consideration to move out to right-back for certain matches (to combat Kylian Mbappé, in this case) after struggling against Vinícius Júnior in 4-1 Spanish Super Cup thrashing against Real Madrid in Riyadh.

Koundé has been in good form of late, which suggests he will continue at right-back (and potentially deal with international teammate Mbappé), with Araújo inside in central defence.

Cubarsí is the favourite to start alongside the Uruguayan ahead of Iñigo Martínez. The only factor which may change that is if Xavi decides to go with added experience in one of the biggest games of the season, although the teenager defender, who has just made his debut for Spain, appears to be a regular fixture in the team at present.

Raphinha could start on the left, in-form Yamal on the right

On the left, Cancelo will come up against former Barcelona winger Ousmane Dembélé, which may force him to curb his attacking instincts somewhat. Ahead of the Portuguese, it seems as if Raphinha will switch away from his usual position on the right in an effort to make the most of Achraf Hakimi’s absence.

Although club captain Sergi Roberto has been in good form of late, especially against Napoli in the round of 16 and versus Atlético Madrid and Las Palmas in LaLiga, he will likely have to settle for a place on the bench, as long as de Jong is deemed ready to start.

Raphinha’s recent displays mean he will almost certainly play from the beginning, probably alongside Lewandowski and Yamal in attack. If Xavi opts for a fourth midfielder (Roberto, Fermín López or even Pedri, who only has an outside chance of playing), Yamal is the player who would most likely drop out of the team.

However, the 16-year-old performed superbly well for Spain against Brazil (who fielded PSG’s Lucas Beraldo in defence), which means he is in pole position to play from the off on the right, with Raphinha on the opposite flank.