FC Barcelona announce squad for Champions League match against Shakhtar Donetsk
The enxt Barcelona match is upon us! The Blaugrana return to European action with their third Champions League group stage game against Shakhtar Donetsk at the Montjuïc Olympic Stadium, and Xavi Hernández has called up the following 20 players for Wednesday’s clash:
Goalkeepers: 1. Marc-André ter Stegen, 13. Iñaki Peña, 26. Ander Astralaga
Defenders: 2. João Cancelo, 3. Alejandro Balde, 4. Ronald Araujo, 5. Iñigo Martínez, 15. Andreas Christensen, 17. Marcos Alonso, 33. Pau Cubarsí, 39. Héctor Fort
Midfielders: 18. Oriol Romeu, 22. Ilkay Gündogan, 30. Marc Casadó, 32. Fermín López, 34. Aleix Garrido
Forwards: 7. Ferran Torres, 14. João Félix, 27. Lamine Yamal, 38. Marc Guiu
There was some hope that at least one or two of the injured players could come back for this one, but Xavi will once again be without six first teamers as Robert Lewandowski (ankle), Frenkie de Jong (ankle), Pedri (thigh), Raphinha (hamstring), Jules Kounde (knee) and Sergi Roberto (calf) all miss out due to injury. There’s a seventh enforced absence in the suspended Gavi, so the coach has to call up several academy youngsters to make up the numbers as defenders Pau Cubarsí and Héctor Fort, midfielders Marc Casadó and Aleix Garrido and overnight sensation Marc Guiu all get a chance to be in uniform on a European night.
Predicted starting XI (4-3-3):
Ter Stegen; Cancelo, Araujo, Christensen, Alonso; Fermín, Romeu, Gündogan; Yamal, Ferran, Félix
The match kicks off at 6.45pm CET (Barcelona), 5.45pm BST/WAT (UK & Nigeria), 12.45pm ET, 9.45am PT (USA), 10.15pm IST (India), and you can join us to follow and comment all the action.
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