Pau Cubarsi and Lamine Yamal will retain their spots in the Barcelona starting lineup against Atletico Madrid on Sunday.
Barcelona will aim to keep the faint La Liga title hopes alive when they lock horns with Atletico Madrid at the Civitas Metropolitano on Sunday night. And Xavi Hernandez has greeted positive updates on the team news front ahead of his side’s latest fixture.
Marcos Alonso and Ferran Torres have trained this week and should be a part of the matchday squad. But Alejandro Balde, Frenkie de Jong, Pedri, and Gavi remain in the treatment room ahead of the game against Atletico Madrid.
Xavi confirmed Torres and Alonso’s impending involvement in the matchday squad during his pre-match press conference. He also discussed Frenkie de Jong’s fitness situation while addressing Joao Felix’s return to the Civitas Metropolitano.
On Alonso, Torres, and de Jong, the Barcelona manager said, “Tomorrow we will give the list. Both [Alonso and Torres] will be available for the squad, if nothing changes. Hopefully he will recover soon, we are positive. When he’s 100 per cent and has a good feeling, he’ll be available again.”
On Joao Felix, Xavi said, “He is tailor-made for the big teams. Joao had a great game in the previous round, he will be important tomorrow. Personally, I liked the hostile environment. Joao has a strong character and wants to show his talent, which he has a lot of. We will need a lot of personality to win the game. He has all the characteristics to play a great game tomorrow.”
Felix will not feature in the starting lineup despite Xavi’s glowing comments. Instead, Raphinha will start on the left flank, with Lamine Yamal retaining his spot in the right-wing berth. The duo will flank Robert Lewandowski, who will lead the line for Barcelona against Atletico Madrid.
The midfield unit should not see any changes, with Fermin Lopez retaining his spot in the lineup. The youngster will accompany Andreas Christensen and Ilkay Gundogan in the middle of the park. As for the defensive unit, Pau Cubarsi will continue at the heart of the defence, joining Ronald Araujo, Jules Kounde, and Joao Cancelo in the backline. Finally, there is no looking past Marc-Andre ter Stegen between the sticks.
Predicted Liverpool XI: ter Stegen; Kounde, Araujo, Cubarsi, Cancelo; Fermin Lopez, Christensen, Gundogan; Yamal, Lewandowski, Raphinha
