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| 18 players in Barça squad to face Athletic Club |
FC Barcelona coach Luis Enrique has named an 18-man squad of Blaugranas that will face Liga giants Athletic Bilbao at the San Mames stadium on Sunday evening with new goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen missing out.
The goalkeeper arrived from Ajax and signed a 5-year contract with the club but will wait before he makes his debut as he is yet to receive his work permit to feature in La Liga. Bravo already joined Manchester City but the good news is that first choice goalkeeper Marc Andre Ter Stegen is now fully fit and has been given the medical greenlight to feature on Sunday. He is joined in goal by Jordi Masip.
Apart from the return of Ter Stegen, defender and fourth captain Javier Mascherano also received the medical greenlight after picking up an injury against Sevilla in the Spanish Super Cup. The Argentine is joined by Gerard Pique and Samuel Umtiti in central defence. Sergi Roberto and Aleix Vidal occupy the right back spot while Lucas Digne and Jordi Alba take up the left as expected while Jeremy Mathieu is still out with a hamstring injury.
New signing Andre Gomes is set to make his Liga debut in a Barça shirt and was named in the squad after missing out on the first game through a suspension from last season. The Portuguese is joined by Rafinha Alcantara among midfield returnees. Still, captain Andres Iniesta is still out of the game with an injury.
Despite a lot of sagas about his future, young striker Munir El Haddadi was named in Lucho’s squad for the game against Athletic Club, the star has been linked with a move to Celta Vigo and Valencia in the past few days as Barça speed up their chase for Paco Alcacer but will feature in the game, joining Arda Turan, Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez in attack.
FC BARCELONA SQUAD VS ATHLETIC BILBAO
Goalkeepers: Marc Andre Ter Stegen, Jordi Masip;
Defenders: Sergi Roberto, Aleix Vidal, Gerard Pique, Javier Mascherano, Samuel Umtiti, Jordi Alba, Lucas Digne;
Midfielders: Ivan Rakitic, Andre Gomes, Denis Suarez, Sergio Busquets, Rafinha Alcantara;
Forwards: Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Munir El Haddadi, Arda Turan.
The game kicks off on Sunday at 8:15pm CET