Samuel Umtiti and Lionel Messi have returned to training but are not a part of the travelling Barcelona squad to face Rayo Vallecano in La Liga.
Barcelona are beginning to string together a neat little run after a streak of games without a win. Two wins on the trot, including the El Clasico annihilation, Ernesto Valverde will be looking to make it three wins out of three league matches when they face Rayo Vallecano. The manager though, has chosen not to travel with Samuel Umtiti and Lionel Messi.
Marc-Andre ter Stegen is set to command the Barcelona goal. In central defence, Thomas Vermaelen is injured and while Samuel Umtiti has returned to training, the Frenchman has not been included in the traveling squad to face Rayo Vallecano. This means Gerard Pique and Clement Lenglet will continue in central defence, with Sergi Roberto and Jordi Alba completing the back four.
In midfield, there are no casualties except Sergi Samper. But, the manager has decided to travel without Denis Suarez. Sergio Busquets and Ivan Rakitic are regular faces in the starting eleven. As far as the third spot is concerned, Arthur Melo has made it his own in recent times with his displays, and the Brazilian should continue being picked by Ernesto Valverde.
In attack, Lionel Messi remains absent, despite returning to training, with Ernesto Valverde likely to not risk a recurrence of the injury by hurrying the Argentine back onto the fold. The manager reflected on his decision in his pre-match conference.
“The most normal thing would be that he comes back gradually to training to stay fit but we have to wait as it has only been two weeks and it is still early.”
Rafinha has done well so far but is likely to concede his starting spot to Ousmane Dembele, with Philippe Coutinho on the left. Malcom could have been an option. But, the Brazilian is another player Ernesto Valverde has chosen to leave out of the traveling squad, amidst reports of the player being discontent regarding first-team chances.
Luis Suarez will be the man upfront. The Uruguayan has found his old form, with four goals in his last four matches after a spell of five games without one.
