FC Barcelona: How Barcelona Will Line Up in Champions League Against Ajax

Barcelona may have already booked their place in the next round of the Champions League, but the work isn’t over yet. A win against Ajax on Tuesday would seal the group for the Catalans and ensure a better draw in the next round.

However, beating Ajax on Tuesday will prove to be a bit more difficult this time around.

The club recently released the list of players that would be called up for the match on their official website, and as expected there were quite a few names not on the list.

Manager Tata Martino will have his hands full when selecting the starting lineup for Barcelona. Some major pieces might be missing, but there are still plenty of stars left in the squad ready to carry the load for La Blaugrana.

Defense

With Victor Valdes still unable to play for several weeks, Jose Pinto will again take his place in goal. The 38-year-old has the experience needed in a match like this and shouldn’t have to deal with too many attacks from Ajax.

The rest of the defense is a big question mark at this point.

Dani Alves, Jordi Alba and Adriano are all out of the group leaving only Martin Montoya as the only first-team full-back in the squad.

Martino may be forced to turn to young right-back Patric to fill in for the missing players and the 20-year-old should do a well enough job. In that case Montoya would start on the left, leaving Patric to play on the right where he is much more comfortable.

However, if you believe the rumors on twitter, it doesn't look like the young defender will be in the starting lineup.

In what seems to be a luxury, Martino will have all of his center-backs to choose from on Tuesday. The problem is one of them will have to feature as a full-back for this game.

It's most likely that Gerard Pique and Javier Mascherano will form the center-back pair while Carles Puyol features as a left-back. But don't expect Puyol to actually play as a left-back, most likely Barcelona's defense will just mold into three center-backs in front of Pinto.

Martino does have the option of playing Patric as a right-back, but that would be a big risk. The 20-year-old could come on late though and see some minutes.

Midfield

Martino will not be taking any chances against an Ajax side that will certainly look to pressure the middle of the pitch.

Xavi is back in the squad and that means he will be starting alongside Andres Iniesta to form the best creative pairing possible in Barcelona’s midfield.

Though this would be a good match to give Alex Song a run out, that likely won’t happen.

With Barcelona’s wings more exposed than normal it would be wise to give them as much cover as possible, meaning Sergio Busquets should start in his traditional holding role.

Busquets is often the most important player on the pitch for Barcelona and will have to be at his best again. He will need to stop attacks before they can even get started and make sure he helps keep possession by winning the ball back.

Forwards

Barcelona will also be without several key forwards when they take on Ajax with Lionel Messi and Cristian Tello who miss out due to injuries, while Alexis Sanchez is suspended for this match.

That leaves Neymar and Pedro as the only first-team forwards in the squad which could pose a problem.

Will fans have the treat of seeing either Adama Traore or Jean Marie Dongou in the starting lineup? Not likely. Neither young star is ready to start in a match like this, though they could be subbed on late.

The only reason Patric could start is because Martino has no other option unless he opts to play a center-back out of position.

With Xavi now back in the midfield all signs point to Cesc Fabregas starting in place of Messi with Neymar and Pedro on either side of him. Like it or not, that is Martino’s best front three he can put on the pitch against Ajax and they are still very much capable of scoring goals.

Fabregas might be playing out of his normal position, but he has played as the striker countless times for Barcelona and Spain and is very comfortable doing so.

Prediction

This match is not going to be easy for Barcelona. Missing so many stars is going to show on the pitch, but the squad is so deep that it shouldn’t keep them from being favorites on Tuesday.

I predict that the Catalans come away with all three points and the group on the back of a 2-1 victory with Neymar scoring both goals.

The defense will have a few shaky moments but Busquets will show why he is the very best in the world at his position.

Ajax will not have an answer for Neymar and will struggle in the middle of the park. Iniesta and Xavi will cause constant headaches for the opposing defenders and we just might get to see a bit of magic in this one.

How should Barcelona line up against Ajax? Will the Catalans be victorious? Leave your thoughts and comments below!