Atletico Madrid vs. Barcelona: Predicted XI for Hansi Flick’s side in La Liga blockbuster

Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick could hand a start to Marcus Rashford in Saturday’s La Liga clash with Atletico Madrid in the Spanish capital.

The Catalan outfit are facing being without the services of key attacker Raphinha for the next month with a hamstring issue that he suffered while representing Brazil.

As a result, a space in the starting side has become available, and on-loan Manchester United forward Rashford could benefit to feature in the first XI this weekend.

Andreas Christensen is a long-term absentee due to a serious knee injury, while Frenkie de Jong remains out with a hamstring issue.

However, there is a chance that De Jong could feature in the Champions League clash between the two sides next week, with the midfielder in the latter stages of his recovery.

Eric Garcia is fit and should start, most likely in the middle of the defence, while Jules Kounde and Alejandro Balde are back in training after recovering from hamstring injuries.

One of Kounde or Balde could potentially start, but it is more likely that both will be saved for the Champions League quarter-final first leg next week.

Joao Cancelo’s recent form has been strong, so the Portugal international should feature in the first XI, while Marc Bernal and Ronald Araujo are also in line for starting roles.

Barcelona possible starting lineup:

J Garcia; Araujo, Cubarsi, E Garcia, Cancelo; Bernal, Pedri; Yamal, F Lopez, Rushford; Lewandowski