Ansu Fati and Gerard Pique will return, while Frenkie de Jong might feature when Barcelona and Celta Vigo face off at Camp Nou on Sunday.
Barcelona will hope to regain the top spot in La Liga when they play hosts to Celta Vigo at the Spotify Camp Nou on Sunday night. And Xavi Hernandez has greeted a positive update on the team news front ahead of his side’s latest fixture.
Frenkie de Jong has resumed training, and the Barcelona manager has included him in the matchday squad. But Hector Bellerin, Ronald Araujo, Jules Kounde, Andreas Christensen, Franck Kessie, and Memphis Depay remain on the sidelines.
Christensen is the latest absentee for Barcelona, but Xavi did not provide an update on the Danish defender during his pre-match press conference. However, the Barcelona boss spoke on various other subjects, including Gerard Pique and the possibility of playing Frenkie de Jong as a centre-back.
Xavi said, “Gerard is a strong player mentally, one of the strongest I have met professionally and personally. He helps us, with him and with the leaders I am happy for them, they are leaders, and I said several times they will be important players and will be ready when the team needs them.”
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The Barcelona boss continued by saying, “Frenkie can play as a defender and we tried that at the beginning of the season, he’s fast and we also have other options. We are fortunate to have several players who can play in several positions, and yes De Jong is an option in that position.”
Pique should return to the starting lineup in place of the injured Christensen, pairing up with Eric Garcia at the heart of the Barcelona defence. Sergi Roberto should continue as the right-back, but Alejandro Balde should replace Marcos Alonso on the left flank. Marc-Andre ter Stegen picks himself between the sticks.
Up ahead in midfield, Xavi will unlikely tinker with the setup, despite the upcoming game against Inter Milan. Sergio Busquets, Gavi, and Pedri should continue in the middle of the park, with de Jong being an option on the bench.
As for the offensive unit, Robert Lewandowski will spearhead the Barcelona attack against Celta Vigo. Ousmane Dembele should also continue, but Ansu Fati should return to the starting lineup. Fati will replace Raphinha, starting on the right flank.
Predicted Barcelona XI: ter Stegen; Roberto, Pique, Garcia, Balde; Gavi, Busquets, Pedri; Fati, Lewandowski, Dembele