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The high-flying Barcelona aims to continue its dominating form when it visits Serbia to take on Red Star Belgrade in Matchweek 4 of the UEFA Champions League.
Flick’s men have won six games on the bounc, with a dismantling of Catalan neighbors Espanyol in La Liga being the latest. Los Periquitos were hopeless against Barcelona’s well-oiled machine. Despite the recent wins, Flick won’t have forgotten what happened in his team’s first European game away from home this season, when it fell to an on-paper inferior side in AS Monaco to start the UCL campaign.
A win at the Rajko Mitic Stadium would see Barcelona end the week in the top eight of the UCL league phase, in possession of one of the automatic qualification places for the round of 16 in this new format.
With an international break looming on the horizon, Flick might opt not to rest some of his main players, targeting two wins in two remaining games before the break.
Here’s how Barcelona could lineup vs. Crvena zvezda.
GK: Iñaki Peña — Fully established as Barcelona’s No. 1 goalkeeper, Peña will look for his second UCL clean sheet of the season.
RB: Jules Koundé — The Frenchman was given a rest over the weekend in the Catalan derby. Expect him to return to the lineup and patrol the right-flank.
CB: Pau Cubarsí — The teenager remains as one of Barcelona’s most consistent and solid defenders. The various defensive injuries have allowed him to continue the very impressive start to his career.
CB: Íñigo Martínez — Alongside Cubarsí, Martínez has established one of the best center-back pairings in Europe this season. He’s been rock solid in his second season with the club.
LB: Alejandro Baldé — Baldé is back to the level that saw him become one of the most dangerous attacking fullbacks in Europe. He’ll look for a third assist in as many games.
CM: Frenkie de Jong — The …
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