**Basel hosts Barcelona in a friendly where the Swiss hosts are riding momentum, but the Blaugrana's star power should prevail.** 🔵🔴

Basel have won two of their last five and look sharp at home, while Barcelona are inconsistent mid-preseason — they've dropped games to Udinese and drawn with Birmingham City. This is exactly the kind of stage where Barça reassert themselves, even if the squad feels patchy.

Key storylines:

- **Barcelona's attack** led by K. Adeyemi and T. Fernández will face a Basel backline missing key defensive depth with G. Sigua and J. Omlin sidelined
- **Basel's midfield** (Gavi and M. Bernal for Barcelona will be tasked with controlling tempo against L. Thorell and Metinho's physicality
- Friendlies are coin flips, but **Barcelona's quality should shine** through despite missing F. de Jong and R. Bardghji

Expected lineups:

- **Basel**: M. Salvi, M. Cissé, F. Daniliuc, A. Victory, K. Tsunemoto, Metinho, L. Thorell, A. Sow, L. Leroy, A. Rexhaj, G. Koloto
- **FC Barcelona**: J. García, A. Balde, P. Cubarsí, Á. Cortés, X. Espart, Gavi, M. Bernal, K. Adeyemi, F. López, T. Fernández, H. Abdelkarim

Prediction:

**Barcelona 2–1 Basel.** Barça edge it despite the friendly format — their attacking class just has too much for a depleted Basel side. ⚽