Alright, so today’s little project was all about trying to figure out what Barcelona’s lineup might actually look like against Las Palmas. Always feels like trying to solve a puzzle blindfolded with Xavi, you know?
How I Started
First things first, I grabbed my coffee – needed fuel for this. I knew the official teamsheet wouldn’t drop for hours yet. Wanted to get ahead of it, see if there were whispers. So, I fired up the usual places:
- Scrolled through Barça fan forums – always buzzing early, even if half the stuff is pure nonsense gossip.
- Peeked at a couple of the local Las Palmas journos I follow on Twitter – sometimes they hear things early about opponents.
- Checked the major sports apps, even though they usually just recycle speculation. Gotta cover the bases.
The Grind & The Rumors
And man, the “leaks” and predictions were wilder than usual. Saw tons of names being thrown around. The big shockers everyone was screaming about?
- João Cancelo at left-back? Lots of talk about Balde maybe needing a rest or being shaky. Cancelo playing inverted on the left? That felt weird.
- No Gavi? Big worry after his injury. Saw rumours about him starting on the bench, which made my stomach sink a bit. Pedri definitely starting, but who partners him? Fermin Lopez getting thrown in?
- What about Robert Lewandowski? Dude has been kind of off it lately. Heard murmurs about maybe starting Ferran Torres central? Or giving Vitor Roque a surprise debut? Now that would be an ‘unexpected pick’.
- And Lamine Yamal? Kid is lighting it up, but he’s young. Saw some folks insisting he’d be benched for Raphinha because of “rotation” or “tactical balance.” Didn’t buy it myself.
Kept digging, cross-referencing sources. Was annoying ’cause some sites just copy-paste each other. Trying to find someone with actual sources felt like looking for a needle in a haystack.
The Final Leak & My Reaction
Finally, about an hour before the team sheet was supposed to be official, the lineup started leaking out consistently from multiple usually-reliable folks. Here’s what made me sit back:
- Cancelo indeed at LEFT back? Confirmed shocker. Xavi flipping things.
- Gavi? Bench. Oof. Saw Fermin Lopez starting alongside Gündoğan and Pedri. Kid earned it, but gutsy.
- Lewandowski? Starts. No Roque surprise. Phew or… meh?
- Yamal? Starts. Good. Bench looking really thin on experience upfront otherwise.
- Biggest eyebrow raise? Marcos Alonso at centre-back! Kounde playing right-back? Talk about shifting the deckchairs. Christensen and Inigo on the bench.
Shook my head. Honestly, some of these picks? Totally unexpected, like typical Xavi clown show sometimes. Alonso at CB? Against a team like Las Palmas who press? Seriously? And Fermin starting… talented, but yeah, surprised.
Just proves it again – you think you know what’s coming, but predicting Xavi’s exact choices is a recipe for looking stupid. Gotta love the chaos, I guess? Or maybe… you just gotta live with it.