Barcelona vs. Fiorentina: Team News, Predicted Lineups, Live Stream & TV Info
Barcelona find themselves a little closer to home in their final International Champions Cup game against Fiorentina.
La Viola's Artemio Franchi Stadium plays host to a Blaugrana side looking to end the competition on a high after successive defeats to Manchester United and Chelsea.
Luis Enrique is unlikely be too concerned at this stage of Barca's pre-season. Despite missing a handful of their big names, the Catalans have still acquitted themselves well in each of their three games so far.
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Douglas' injury, picked up in the game against Jose Mourinho's Premier League winners, is likely to see Sergi Roberto revert to the unfamiliar right-back role he played earlier in the competition.
"Picture: Douglas is out for 8 weeks with a thigh muscle injury #fcblive [fcb] pic.twitter.com/4qn3eC8bBj
— barcastuff (@barcastuff) July 29, 2015"
Aside from that enforced switch, Barca will likely keep much the same personnel formation against Paulo Sousa's side.
The Portuguese will seek an improvement on the loss to Paris Saint-Germain, a 5-4 win on penalties against Benfica not really providing Sousa with too many clues as to how his team are shaping up.
Chelsea lie in wait for Fiorentina just three days after this match, so a good result here is a pre-requisite for the hosts.
Date: Sunday, August 2
Time: 8 p.m. BST/3 p.m ET
Venue: Artemio Franchi Stadium, Florence, Italy
TV Info: Sky Sports 1 (UK only)/ESPN Deportes (USA only)
Live Stream: Sky Go (UK only)
Form Lines
| Fiorentina | Barcelona |
| D 0-0 vs. Benfica | D 2-2 vs Chelsea |
| L 2-4 vs. Paris Saint-Germain | L 1-3 vs Manchester United |
| W 2-0 vs. Carpi | W 2-1 vs Los Angeles Galaxy |
| D 0-0 vs. Gyirmot | W 3-1 vs Juventus |
| W 3-0 vs. Chievo | W 3-1 vs Athletic Club de Bilbao |
| W 3-2 vs. Palermo | D 2-2 vs Deportivo La Coruna |
Predicted Formations
Barcelona will stick to their tried-and-tested 4-3-3 formation, and it's highly likely the same personnel will be used from the start, with the exception of Douglas.
Ahead of the Gamper Trophy game against AS Roma, Luis Enrique can have a final look at his fringe players in a pre-season game that should remain competitive given Fiorentina still have a game to play after this one and can therefore finish the tournament well with two wins.
Of those players who have featured for the Blaugrana thus far, Luis Suarez has been by some distance the standout.
The Uruguayan has played each game at a high tempo, and his goals are a reward for the high level of application that he has put into each 90 minutes in the absence of Neymar and Lionel Messi.
Sandro Ramirez has done his chances of routine first-team involvement no harm at all either, and he will feature at some point again in this one.
"Chelsea 1-2 Barcelona Sandro pulls off a sublime finish! Is he the perfect replacement for an outgoing Pedro? pic.twitter.com/X3HXOKFwHK
— WorldGoalz (@WorldGoalz_) July 29, 2015"
Fiorentina is already Paulo Sousa's eighth stop of a managerial career that has spanned just 10 years, and he is still finding his feet at a club that finished fourth in Serie A last year and reached the semi-finals of the Europa League under the stewardship of his predecessor Vincenzo Montella.
An attacking 4-2-3-1 could be in Sousa's mind as he looks to utilise the talents of his whole squad including Giuseppe Rossi, Josip Ilicic and new boy Mario Suarez.
Alongside ex-Atletico Madrid man Suarez, veteran La Liga players Borja Valero and Joaquin are other players who know all about the Catalans, and they will relish the opportunity to face the reigning European champions.
Player to Watch
Josip Ilicic is a player who always catches the eye.
The Slovenian is enjoying some of the best form of his career, and this game could end up being one of his last for La Viola with Tottenham Hotspur looking to seal a £5.5 million deal according to La Nazione via Jamie Sanderson of Metro.
Sousa has to decide which side to play him on because the player is equally adept on either wing, and he will provide a stiff test for either Sergi Roberto or Adriano, assuming both play in the full-back positions in this one.
Ilicic's game is one of first-class technique that makes up for a lack of searing pace that is probably the only weakness in his armoury.
"He is the best Slovenian player of this generation, a subtle, elusive, incisive midfielder who has made a real success of his five years in Italy. In a team of industrious but unimaginative workers, Ilicic stands out like a lighthouse.
"
ESPNFC detail his eight goals scored in 2014/15, making him Fiorentina's most prolific marksman during the campaign.
Key Battle
If Luis Enrique decides to start with Thomas Vermaelen alongside Gerard Pique here, then the Belgian needs to come up big if he wants to be considered anything more than a bit-part player during the new season.
Vermaelen has struggled to build up any sort of rapport with Pique thus far, and he'll have his hands full again when up against a reborn Giuseppe Rossi.
Still only 28 years of age, ex-Villarreal man Rossi still harbours designs on making his mark for the Italian national side, per Associated Press via ESPNFC.
This game presents a great chance for him to finally prove that he is on the road to recovery after injury concerns that have blighted his career to this point.
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