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Barcelona prepare to visit the San Siro on Tuesday to face Inter Milan in their final group stage game of the UEFA Champions League. The Catalans have already secured qualification to the knockout stages, winning 3 of their 5 games and currently sit 4 points clear at the top of the group.
This means that the top spot is secured for the La Liga giants regardless of the outcome of Tuesday’s game. With a trip to the Anoeta Stadium to face Real Sociedad coming up on Saturday, Barcelona were expected to give a few players a deserved rest ahead of the game. And Ernesto Valverde’s final 20-man squad for the game does miss a few big names.
The biggest miss from the squad is the 6-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi, who will not be among the men traveling to Italy. With Barcelona only ahead of Real Madrid on goal difference at the top of the La Liga table, Valverde needs the Argentinean fully fit, especially since they face Los Blancos in less than 10 days time. Messi scored a brilliant hat-trick in the league on Saturday as Barcelona won 5-2 against Mallorca and has already picked up 14 goals and 8 assists from 15 games in all competitions.
Gerard Pique and Sergi Roberto have also been rested and do not feature in the squad. Also missing due to injury are Nelson Semedo, Arthur Melo, Ousmane Dembele, and Jordi Alba. However, Valverde has ensured that the Catalans do not arrive at the San Siro short of firepower, opting to keep Antoine Griezmann and Luis Suarez among the 20.
Here’s the final 20 man list:
Marc Ter Stegen, Ivan Rakitic, Sergio Busquets, Jean-Clair Todibo, Suárez, Neto, Clement Lenglet, Moussa Wague, Griezmann, Carles Aleñá, Frenkie De Jong, Arturo Vidal, Samuel Umtiti, Junior Firpo, Iñaki Peña, Carles Pérez, Riqui Puig, Ansu Fati, Ronald Araujo and Dani Morer.
