FC Barcelona announce squad for Copa del Rey Round of 32 against Barbastro
Xavi Hernández has called up 21 players for Sunday’s clash
The next Barcelona match is upon us! The Blaugrana begin a new journey in the Spanish Cup as they face Fourth Division side UD Barbastro in the Copa del Rey Round of 32, and Xavi Hernández has called up the following 21 players for Sunday’s clash:
Goalkeepers: 13. Iñaki Peña, 26. Ander Astralaga, 36. Aron Yaakobishvili
Defenders: 4. Ronald Araujo, 5. Iñigo Martínez, 15. Andreas Christensen, 23, Jules Kounde, 33. Pau Cubarsí, 39. Héctor Fort
Midfielders: 18. Oriol Romeu, 20. Sergi Roberto, 21. Frenkie de Jong, 22. Ilkay Gündogan, 30. Marc Casadó, 32. Fermín López
Forwards: 7. Ferran Torres, 9. Robert Lewandowski, 11. Raphinha, 14. João Félix, 19. Vitor Roque, 37. Pau Víctor
There’s a lot to get through with this one, so let’s start with the good news: Barça get back a very important piece as Iñigo Martínez returns after missing the last month or so with a hamstring injury. Now to the bad news: Alejandro Balde is a late scratch due to a fever, but the young full-back is not injured which is a posivite thing. João Cancelo (knee) is injured and misses out, as does Lamine Yamal thanks to a obscure suspension from last year that will keep him out of the next two Copa del Rey matches. Pedri (hamstring), Marcos Alonso (back), Marc-André ter Stegen (back) and Gavi (knee) remain out as long-term injury absentees, and 22-year-old winger Pau Víctor gets a debut call-up as Lamal’s replacement up front.
Phew.
Predicted starting XI (4-3-3):
Peña; Fort, Kounde, Christensen, Iñigo; Fermín, Romeu, Casadó; Ferran, Roque, Félix
The match kicks off at 9pm CET/WAT (Barcelona & Nigeria), 8pm GMT (UK), 3pm ET, 12pm PT (USA), 1.30am IST (India, Monday), and you can join us to follow and comment all the action.
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