It’s almost time for the next Barcelona match! The Blaugrana have a challenging La Liga away match against Las Palmas to start the new year, and Xavi Hernández has selected the following 21 players for the match on Thursday:
Goalkeepers:
13. Iñaki Peña, 26. Ander Astralaga, 31. Diego Kochen
Defenders:
2. João Cancelo, 3. Alejandro Balde, 4. Ronald Araujo, 15. Andreas Christensen, 23. Jules Kounde, 33. Pau Cubarsí, 39. Héctor Fort
Midfielders:
18. Oriol Romeu, 20. Sergi Roberto, 21. Frenkie de Jong, 22. Ilkay Gündogan, 32. Fermín López
Forwards:
7. Ferran Torres, 9. Robert Lewandowski, 11. Raphinha, 14. João Félix, 19. Vitor Roque, 27. Lamine Yamal
The major story on this one is that Vitor Roque, a striker from Brazil, completed his registration in time to travel to the Canary Islands, meaning he is ready to make his debut. Frenkie de Jong’s return from suspension is another addition to the team, although injuries will still keep several players out for Barça, including Gavi (knee), Marcos Alonso (back), Iñigo Martínez (hamstring), and Marc-André ter Stegen (back).
Predicted starting XI (4-3-3):
Peña; Cancelo, Araujo, Kounde, Balde; Roberto, De Jong, Gündogan; Raphinha, Lewandowski, Ferran
You can join us to monitor and comment on all the action starting from 9.30 p.m. CET/WAT (Barcelona & Nigeria), 8.30 p.m. GMT (UK), 3.30 p.m. ET, 12.30 p.m. PT (USA), and 2 a.m. IST (India, Friday).
