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| 18 Barça players in Squad vs Alaves |
FC Barcelona take on Alaves in their 3rd game of the 2016/2017 La Liga season on Saturday night and coach Luis Enrique have named a squad of 18 players to face the newcomers, with Messi, Iniesta and Jeremy Mathieu all part.
Lionel Messi missed Argentina’s 2-2 draw against Venezuela due to an injury to his pubis which put the player in doubt for the game against Alaves, however, Luis Enrique confirmed yesterday that he is fit to feature, he’s been given the medical green light and had been selected as part of the 18 players to play against Alaves.
Another injury boost is the return of skipper Andres Iniesta, the Spaniard picked up an injury in the Spanish super cup and missed the club’s first two Liga games, but he is now fully fit and ready to captain the team to their their win in three games in La Liga this season.
Joining Andres Iniesta on the return list is Jeremy Mathieu, the Frenchman picked up an injury on the same day as Iniesta and has been out ever since then. He has been given the medical green light and was selected in the squad for the Alaves game.
Marc Andre Ter Stegen is the only player out injured. The star picked up a hamstring injury in training and will miss the game, which leads to Cillessen and Masip being called up.
Andre Gomes has been declared fully fit to play but wasn’t selected by Luis Enrique for the game. He is joined by Sergi Roberto and Gerard Pique who also didn’t make part of the squad as they’re given rest after an hectic international duty.
New striker Paco Alcacer might make his debut in the game as he was called up and Neymar is likely to feature in his first Barça game this season.
FC BARCELON SQUAD VS ALAVES
Goalkeepers: Jasper Cillessen, Jordi Masip;
Defenders: Aleix Vidal, Samuel Umtiti, Javier Mascherano, Jeremy Mathieu, Jordi Alba, Lucas Digne;
Midfielders: Ivan Rakitic, Rafinha Alcantara, Sergio Busquets, Andres Iniesta, Denis Suarez;
Forwards: Paco Alcacer, Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Arda Turan, Neymar.