Coutinho and Dembele out, Messi doubtful- How will Barcelona line up vs Real Betis
On the last week of club football before the international break returns, Barcelona has a tough match lined up. They face Real Betis at the Camp Nou as the Catalans look to win 3 points to go clear at the top of the table with a difference of 4 points.
However, Valverde will have a difficult time selecting the attacking trio for today. With Coutinho and Dembele left out, and Messi still a doubt, what line up will Valverde prefer?
The omission of Dembele surprised the fans, as this was a chance for him to prove himself even more and win back the trust he lost. But, according to RAC1, the club spent 90 minutes trying to get in touch with him on Thursday after he didn't show up on time for training. Barcelona are said to have then sent their club doctors to check on his status, and he was confirmed to have gastroenteritis.
Messi, on the other hand, is back from injury and now trains regularly with the team. But it is yet to be seen whether Valverde makes him start a game or goes slow on him, giving his regular bench-warmers an opportunity to showcase their skills.
This might probably be the only chance where Malcom gets to show the Cules and his coaching staff that he is a player worthy enough to play for Barcelona. This is certainly a platform for him to rise as the problems relating to Dembele is just getting worse with time.
After playing three years for the French club Bordeaux, Malcom decided to part ways and his destination was said to be Rome, but Barcelona hijacked the move, and Malcom was pretty happy with it.
However, he has struggled to get game time since. Coutinho has proved himself to be a vital player and EV preferred Dembele over Malcom to make substitute appearances. But Malcom's opener against Inter Milan must be the start of a thrilling career for the Brazilian.
Barcelona is likely to play a 4-3-3 formation, with Malcom taking Coutinho's spot on the left, alongside Suarez and Messi playing from the centre and right respectively.
Also, this might be the only occasion where Denis Suarez would get some minutes to play. He has struggled for minutes since the start of the season and is yet to make an appearance in La Liga for the Blaugrana.