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#3 The Gameplan
The 2017-18 season saw the Catalans under manager Ernesto Valverde mostly deployed in a 4-4-2 formation with Messi and Suarez up top.
Given there is no urge in the manager to experiment abruptly, we can more or less expect this formation to be used predominantly this season as well.
4-4-2
Defenders
Marc Andre Ter Stegen will continue to start in goal undoubtedly, while Jasper Cillessen might continue to be the overqualified rotation piece, occasionally getting to keep in the Copa matches and other less important fixtures.
The back-line would be the same, more or less, with the centre-back pairing of Gerard Pique and the newly crowned world champion Samuel Umtiti.
The fullback positions hold more importance in the Barcelona style of play. Therefore, it is important that they have world-class fullbacks to exploit the spaces and find gaps through tight defenses by overlapping and passing moves. Sergi Roberto and Jordi Alba will continue to be the starting fullbacks.
Midfielders
The midfield used to be an undisputed area at Barça but the recent retirements of club legends has vacated places for the youngsters to fight for. Sergio Busquets will be the undisputed mainstay at the base of the midfield along with Ivan Rakitic/Arthur Melo. Philippe Coutinho shall become a regular on the left side following Iniesta's departure.
A great many things are expected of Ousmane Dembele after a tumultuous first season at the Camp Nou. He and the new Brazilian signing Malcom will probably battle for a starting berth on the right side of the midfield.
Forwards
Nothing much to discuss here. Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez would continue to lead the attack. Messi will continue to drop deeper to play more as a central attacking midfielder while Suarez presses the back-line and make runs into the channels to exploit space.
Bench
Paco Alcácer delivered whenever called upon last season, contributing to offense and directly scoring goals. His numbers look great considering he played less than a thousand minutes of football in 2017-18. Munir El Haddadi is another in-house backup, who is touted to stay this season.
In midfield, the bench is stacked with misfits (such as Gomes) and potential talents (such as Aleña) from the B-team.
Clement Lenglet is a welcome addition to the squad for providing more competition. He can be a reliable backup along with the Belgian defender Thomas Vermaelen. If the rumors are true we'll see no more of Yerry Mina in a Barcelona jersey again.
