Barcelona head to Donostia-San Sebastian to face Real Sociedad after pulling a goalless draw with Rayo Vallecano last weekend.
They will be facing Real Sociedad without their captain Sergio Busquets, who was sent off for a second yellow in stoppage time against Rayo Vallecano for an elbow on Radamel Falcao.
In the absence of Busquets, Miralem Pjanic may well be given the chance to hold the midfield position for Barcelona. The Bosnian has not started a match for Barcelona since the 24th of February 2021, after spending last season at Besiktas.
Pjanic was supposed to leave the club this summer but some impressive performances in preseason have convinced Xavi Hernandez that he can be of use, causing the exit of Nico Gonzalez on loan to Valencia.
Sport is the likely to start against Real Betis on Sunday. Few have been able to carry out the tasks of Busquets in his absence with any success but Pjanic did a good job of playing incisive passes in preseason.
As Barcelona should be well aware though, it is one thing doing so in preseason and another during competitive matches. Coming up against the likes of Mikel Merino and David Silva, it could be a tough test for Pjanic against a team that will put pressure on him.
