How Barcelona could line up against Real Valladolid

Barcelona boss Xavi will be missing three first-team players for Tuesday's La Liga clash with Real Valladolid.

The Catalan giants were missing three players for Saturday's game against Real Sociedad, which ended in a 2-1 defeat for the champions at Camp Nou.

Gavi is available again after missing out against the Basque outfit through suspension, but Ronald Araujo and Pedri remain on the sidelines through injury, while Jules Kounde is also out with a muscular problem.

Xavi will continue to hand minutes to squad players in the latter stages of the season, but he will be desperate to return to winning ways on Tuesday, so a strong XI is expected to take to the field.

Frenkie de Jong and the returning Gavi could feature alongside Sergio Busquets in central midfield, while Ousmane Dembele is set to start for the second time since recovering from a long-term hamstring problem.

Raphinha should also again feature in the final third of the field despite pressure from Ferran Torres and Ansu Fati, who both appeared off the bench on Saturday.

Pablo Torre also featured as a late substitute against Real Sociedad and will be hoping to continue his involvement in this match.

Sergi Roberto could benefit from the defensive absences to feature at right-back, while Marcos Alonso is likely to be handed a start in the middle of the defence.

Barcelona possible starting lineup: Ter Stegen; Roberto, Alonso, Christensen, Balde; Gavi, Busquets, F de Jong; Dembele, Lewandowski, Raphinha