FC Barcelona announce squad for La Liga match against Real Betis

The next Barcelona match is upon us! The Blaugrana are back in action in La Liga looking to stay top of the table, but it’s a very difficult challenge as the champions welcome Real Betis to the Camp Nou on Sunday.

Ernesto Valverde has called up the following 19 players* for the game, with two big names returning!

Goalkeepers: 1. Marc-André ter Stegen, 13. Jasper Cillessen

Defenders: 2. Nélson Semedo, 3. Gerard Piqué, 15. Clément Lenglet, 18. Jordi Alba, 23. Samuel Umtiti

Midfielders: 4. Ivan Rakitic, 5. Sergio Busquets, 6. Denis Suarez, 8. Arthur, 12. Rafinha, 20. Sergi Roberto, 22. Arturo Vidal, 26. Carles Aleñá

Forwards: 9. Luis Suárez, 10. Lionel Messi, 14. Malcom, 19. Munir

*One of these players will be cut from the final matchday squad. The favorites: Denis, Munir.

The big news here is obviously the return of Lionel Messi, who is cleared after missing the last three weeks with a broken arm. But another big name back is Samuel Umtiti, finally returning from a knee problem. Missing Sunday’s match are the injured Philippe Coutinho, Sergi Samper and Thomas Vermaelen, while Ousmane Dembélé is out per the manager’s decision.

Predicted starting XI (4-3-3):

Ter Stegen; Semedo, Piqué, Lenglet, Alba; Vidal, Busquets, Arthur; Messi, Suárez, Malcom

The match kicks off at 4.15pm CET (Barcelona & Nigeria), 3.15pm GMT (UK), 10.15am ET, 7.15am PT (USA), 8.45pm IST (India), and you can join us to follow and comment all the action.

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