Ronald Koeman has announced the line-up of Barcelona for el Classico. The coach has to miss a number of basic forces in the top match against Real Madrid, but saw Jordi Alba return in the match selection. The fullback starts in the starting lineup, just like Ansu Fati. The match between Barcelona and Real starts at 4.15 pm in the Camp Nou.
Koeman hopes to continue the good line from last week against Real, when his team was 3-1 too strong for Valencia and also defeated Dynamo Kiev 1-0 in the Champions League. According to the Dutchman, the meeting with the Royal not decisive for his future, he said during the press conference on Friday. “We know what we can do and we want to show it. For a Classico there is no clear favorite. We play at home, we have our own supporters and I don’t have that fear. We just want to show that we have a good team.”
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Fati will therefore return to the starting line-up, as he was given a rest against Kiev and was replaced by Luuk de Jong. The latter starts on the reserve bench. “He is a player who shows a lot,” Koeman said about Fati on Friday. “He’s on the right track. Ansu needs to be left alone so he can recover and get the fitness and rhythm that every player needs. We shouldn’t think that he is. It’s just Ansu, part of the team .”
Barcelona lineup: Ter Stegen; Mingueza, Pique, Garcia, Alba; Busquets, Gavi, Frenkie de Jong; Fati, Depay, Dest
Real Madrid line-up: Courtois; Vazquez, Militao, Alaba, Mendy; Casemiro, Kroos, Modric; Vinicius, Benzema, Rodrygo