As FC Barcelona commence their sixth and final UEFA Champions League group stage match, the team news pertains not to who is injured, but who’s being rested. Robert Lewandowski, Frenkie de Jong, Ilkay Gundogan and Ronald Araujo were all left out of the traveling party to Royal Antwerp.
Barcelona announced their travel squad today and the aforementioned quartet will be staying back in Catalonia.
FC Barcelona at Royal Antwerp FYIs
Kickoff: Wed. Dec. 13, 8pm, Bosuilstadion, Antwerp, Belgium
Competition: UEFA Champions League Group H Matchday 6/6
Barca Preview Material: Team News Starting XI Prediction
UCL Standing: Barca 1st, 12 pts, WLWWW 4th, 0 pts LLLLL
Transatlantic Passage: How the Premier League Redefined Soccer in America: LINK
Google Result Probability: Barca 60% Draw 22% Antwerp 37%
Barca Team News
No sense is risking them here, as this match is total dead rubber. Especially when you consider that a couple of the names on that list have missed significant time already this season due to injury. The Catalan club have a quartet of injured players too: Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Gavi, Inigo Martinez and Marcos Alonso. No members of that foursome will be traveling to Belgium, but then again, no one expected to be coming along anyway.
Unless Barcelona lose this match, and Porto beats Shakhtar Donetsk by three goals or more, the Blaugranes will win Group H. As for a place in the knockout round, it is already booked.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
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