Advantage Alexis: Sánchez looks certain to be in first eleven

Tata Martino has almost decided his very first “official eleven” against Levante at the Nou Camp, which will be very similar to last year, with the novelty of Neymar on the left.

In goal will be Valdés. The defense will be Alves, Pique, Mascherano and Alba, in the middle, Busquets, Xavi and Iniesta, with Cesc on standby.

But the main uncertainty is who will be accompanying Messi and Neymar up front. There are three candidates for the hot seat: Alexis Sánchez, Pedro and Cristian Tello.

The player that has the main advantage is none other than Alexis. The Chilean has played more minutes than Messi and Neymar, with a total of 391. Moreover, not only has he recovered his goal scoring ability (3), but has also finished the preseason with 6 goal assists making him the leader in that aspect.Alexis Sánchez has been working very hard.

Pedro has made it clear that he’s back in shape, too. Despite participating in two fewer games than Alexis and Tello because of the Confederations Cup commitments, the player from the Canary islands was the second top scorer with 4 goals, one shy of Leo Messi’s total of 5. Pedro also has the added merit of being the striker who has played the least amount of time: 125 minutes.

Unlike Alexis and Tello, who are traveling with their respective country selections, Pedro will thoroughly prepare all week for the season’s opener against Levante.

Cristian Tello is the one with the least amount of options, and he knows it.

Not only because he is usually used in running off the ball to free up Neymar, but also because he made ??the long trip to Ecuador yesterday, where he could debut with the senior team. Add to that the more than 10,000 Km of the Asia tour, the young player will add another 12,000 Km crossing the ocean with La Roja.