Marc-Andre ter Stegen is fit again and should be back in the lineup while Ansu Fati is likely to start as well when Barcelona play Granada at Camp Nou on Sunday.
Barcelona will be kicking off a new era under Quique Setien when they welcome Granada to Camp Nou on Sunday night in matchweek 20 of the 2019-20 La Liga. The hosts slipped down to the second place after Real Madrid beat Sevilla on Saturday and will be looking to reclaim the top spot with a win in Setien’s first game in charge.
And Barcelona have been handed a boost ahead of the game as first-choice goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen has trained with the first-team all week after recovering from his knee injury. The German international should walk back into the starting XI, at the expense of summer arrival Neto in goal.
? @QSetien on @RiquiPuig and the Barça B players pic.twitter.com/KTq8lhevxk
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) January 18, 2020
There are likely to be a couple of changes in defence from the last game against Atletico Madrid, with Nelson Semedo likely to get the nod at right-back ahead of Sergi Roberto while Clement Lenglet is set to replace Samuel Umtiti at the heart of the Barcelona backline. Gerard Pique and Jordi Alba should hold on to their spots in the team.
Sergio Busquets is pretty much a certain starter for Barcelona as the midfield anchorman, but the competition for the remaining two spots is intense, more so with marquee summer signing Frenkie de Jong suspended for the game. Ivan Rakitic, Arturo Vidal, Sergi Roberto will all vie for the two spots, along with Arthur who is back in training.
Along with them, academy prospect Riqui Puig is also a potential option, with new manager Setien speaking about the youngster in glowing terms ahead of the game. “Riqui Puig is an excellent player, so are the others in the B team. Of course he’s going to have chances but so will all the players,” the Barcelona said in his pre-match presser (h/t Barca Blaugranes).
“This week he’s trained all week, perhaps next week things will be different and he won’t. But he will certainly always have options,” Setien added. However, the manager is likely to go in with the experience of Vidal and Rakitic for his first game in charge, with Puig likely to get some minutes off the bench.
Attack is where Barcelona have injury issues as Ousmane Dembele is sidelined until next month while star striker Luis Suarez is likely to miss the rest of the season after undergoing a surgery on his knee.
With the Uruguayan sidelined, Antoine Griezmann should get the nod as the centre-forward for Barcelona, while teenage sensation Ansu Fati should get an opportunity on the left-wing. Captain and talisman Lionel Messi is a certain starter on the right flank for Barcelona.
Barcelona Predicted Lineup: ter Stegen; Semedo, Pique, Lenglet, Alba; Rakitic, Busquets, Vidal; Messi, Griezmann, Fati
