No fewer than nine members of Xavi’s Barcelona squad are viewed as certain to be afforded starts in the club’s upcoming showdown with Paris Saint-Germain.
That’s according to Diario Sport’s Sergi Capdevila, who has on Friday provided an insight into the latest developments behind the scenes in Catalunya’s capital.
Barcelona, of course, are currently in the process of ramping up preparations for what many would argue is their biggest fixture of the season to date.
Next Wednesday night, the Blaugrana will make the trip to France, for the first leg of the club’s Champions League quarter-final showdown with the aforementioned PSG.
With no La Liga outing pencilled in for the weekend, full focus in Catalunya is already on the capital clash, one which could shape the remainder of Barca’s season.
In turn, it will no doubt come as a point of interest for the club’s fanbase to learn that the bulk of their side’s starting XI to take to the pitch at the Parc des Princes has already been decided upon.
As per the aforementioned Sport, all but guaranteed to feature from the off next Wednesday are:
Marc-André ter Stegen, Jules Koundé, Ronald Araújo, Pau Cubarsí, João Cancelo, İlkay Gündoğan, Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, and Lamine Yamal.
The question marks come in midfield, where the fitness of Andreas Christensen and Frenkie de Jong will be decisive in defining which two of the Dane, Dutchman, Sergi Roberto and Fermín López join Gündoğan in the middle of the park.
Conor Laird | GSFN
