How Barcelona could line up against Real Sociedad

Barcelona could be boosted by the return of both Gerard Pique and Ronald Araujo for Thursday's La Liga clash with Real Sociedad.

Araujo will be available again following a suspension, while Pique could recover from a groin problem to feature in the middle of the defence, as the latter's issue is not a serious one.

Sergino Dest and Clement Lenglet could drop out of the defence from Monday's 1-0 loss to Cadiz to allow Pique and Araujo to return, with the latter potentially operating at right-back against Real Sociedad.

Pedri is set to miss the remainder of the season with a hamstring problem, while Samuel Umtiti and Sergi Roberto are unlikely to be involved against the Basque outfit despite recently returning to training.

Ansu Fati is getting closer to a first-team return, and the Spain international has a chance of being in the squad for this match, with the attacker stepping up his injury recovery in training.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is set to replace Memphis Depay in the final third of the field, but Ousmane Dembele and Ferran Torres should both retain their spots in the starting XI.

Pedri's absence opened the door for Gavi to start against Cadiz, and the latter is again expected to feature in the middle of the park alongside Frenkie de Jong and Sergio Busquets.

Barcelona possible starting lineup: Ter Stegen; Araujo, Pique, E Garcia, Alba; F de Jong, Busquets, Gavi; Dembele, Aubameyang, Torres