The first XI of Koeman's Barca 2.0, full of unknowns
The coach could go 4-3-3 but he doesn't really have a striker to use
After a week and a half of training, Barca will play their first friendly on Wednesday against Nastic at 7pm. It’s hard to predict what Ronald Koeman’s first XI is like this season and what we see this week won’t be close, with various players away on holiday.
There are various groups of players. Neto, Samuel Umtiti and Miralem Pjanic are training but they need to leave the club.
Meanwhile Gerard Pique and Sergi Roberto are in a second group of players, whom Barca want to reduce their salary. There’s Riqui Puig and Sergino Dest, too, neither of whom are certain they will be at the club if a good offer arrives. It will be a long summer.
Finally, there are plenty of Barca B players who have trained under Koeman so far in preseason - Álex Collado, Balde, Gavi, Comas, Yusuf Demir, Ramos Mingo, Nico, Arnau Tenas and Iñaki Peña.
Koeman may start with a 4-3-3 against Nastic. Neto in goal, Dest, Pique, Umtiti and Balde ahead of him. Nico, Pjanic and Riqui Puig in midfield, then Demir, Collado and Sergi Roberto up front potentially.
Another option would be 3-5-2 with Comas or Ramos Mingo added in defence. That could see Sergi Roberto used as right wing back. The absence of a pure No 9 is a problem for these friendlies, and though Memphis Depay has trained he won’t be ready yet.
Topics with the letter
