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Big names back for Barca for vital Champions League tie as Szczesny closes in

0 Comment(s)Print E-mail Xinhua, September 30, 2024
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MADRID, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) -- FC Barcelona have a vital Champions League tie at home to Swiss side, Young Boys on Tuesday as they look to kickstart their European campaign and put a bad weekend behind them.

Barca coach Hansi Flick rested players such as Lamine Yamal, Inigo Martinez and Raphinha away to Osasuna on Saturday night and saw how a team with a high percentage of B-teamers was outmuscled by Osasuna in a 4-2 defeat to emphatically end their 100 percent start to the campaign.

Yamal, Martinez and Raphinha will all return to the starting 11 on Tuesday when Young Boys visit Montjuic, to give the lineup a more familiar look.

Both sides lost their opening game in the new-look Champions League, with Barcelona going down 2-1 in Monaco, while their rivals were beaten 3-0 at home to Aston Villa.

Gavi, Andreas Christensen, Ronald Araujo and Marc Andre Ter Stegen are all out for Barca, while Eric Garcia is suspended after the red card he saw in the opening minutes in Monaco, that was so costly to Barcelona's hopes.

Meanwhile Inaki Pena continues in goal as he covers for Ter Stegen, who is out for the season after having a knee operation last week.

It increasingly looks as if Wojciech Szczesny will be tempted out of retirement to provide cover for Ter Stegen, but after hanging up his gloves after the European Championships, the former Arsenal, Roma and Juventus goalkeeper, will need time to get to match fitness.

Flick will face a selection dilemma when the Polish international is fully fit, as making him first choice would effectively signal to Pena that the club doesn't think he is good enough to play on a regular basis, while Szczesny is unlikely to be happy to spend his time warming the subs' bench.

With only the top eight of the 32 sides in the Champions League assured a place in the knockout stages, there isn't a lot of room for error and Barca need to win on Tuesday to help put Saturday's disappointment behind them. Enditem

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