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It's the biggest match of the season so far, and FC Barcelona have responded in kind by naming their strongest squad of the season. Sergio Busquets has received medical clearance to make his comeback from injury after spending three weeks on the sidelines nursing a heavy knock to his ankle, and there's a possibility that he will slot right-back into the starting line-up at the expense of Jeremy Mathieu, enabling Javier Mascherano to return to his customary centre-half position.
On the other hand, this might be a bluff; Busquets might sit on the bench and Barça could continue as they did against Manchester City. Certainly, it worked well enough for us then, why not tonight against Real Madrid as well?
Playing for the chance to extend our lead atop La Liga to four points should be motivation enough for our squad, but we also have the added incentive of avenging our humbling 1-3 defeat at the Santiago Bernabeu earlier this season, not to mention last season's Copa del Rey final heartbreak. Come on guys, let's get the job done, let's win El Clasico!
These are the eighteen men named by Lucho for the game:
Goalkeepers: 1. Marc-André ter Stegen, 13. Claudio Bravo
Defenders: 3. Gerard Piqué, 14. Javier Mascherano, 15. Marc Bartra, 18. Jordi Alba, 21. Adriano Correia, 22. Dani Alves, 24. Jérémy Mathieu
Midfielders: 4. Ivan Rakitic, 5. Sergio Busquets, 6. Xavi Hernández, 8. Andrés Iniesta, 12. Rafinha Alcântara
Forwards: 7. Pedro Rodríguez, 9. Luis Suárez, 10. Lionel Messi, 11. Neymar Jr.
Expected Starting Lineup (4-3-3):
Bravo; Alves, Pique, Mascherano, Alba; Busquets, Rakitic, Iniesta; Messi, Suarez, Neymar
The match starts at 21:00 CET, and you can follow and comment all the action right here, at Barça Blaugranes.
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