Barcelona’s line-up for the home game against Levante in LaLiga has been announced. Trainer Ronald Koeman, who is not allowed to sit on the bench due to a suspension, opts for a starting eleven in the Camp Nou with, among others, Memphis Depay, Luuk de Jong and Philippe Coutinho. Frenkie de Jong is missing due to a suspension. Sergi Roberto is also not there. He is struggling with an injury and will be replaced by Coutinho. The game is led by referee Isidro Díaz de Mera and will start at 4.15 pm.
In addition to Sergi Roberto, Ousmane Dembélé, Pedri, Martin Braithwaite, Sergio Aguero, Jordi Alba and Alex Balde are also missing due to injuries, while De Jong has to watch after his red card in the midweek duel with Cádiz (0-0). Koeman chooses to have Gavi who turned seventeen last month again appear at the starting signal. The midfielder made his basic debut in Cádiz for los Azulgrana.
?? ?????????? ???? !! ?? #BarçaLevante pic.twitter.com/lY94LyLNVr
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) September 26, 2021
On the defense, Koeman chooses to spare Araujo, his place is taken by Eric Garcia. Surprisingly, Nico González also has a starting spot. “Gavi may play tomorrow, because we only have seventeen field players”, Koeman emphasized in the run-up to the home game. “We have too many players in certain positions and almost no one in other positions. We currently have a limited selection and Gavi has showed in a very short time that he deserves a place in this team.”
Yusuf Demir, one year older, starts from the reserve bench. The attacker did appear at the kick-off against Granada and Cádiz but has to settle for a place on the bench against Levante. Barcelona have not won since the 2-1 win over Getafe on August 29. Since then, the match has been played against Granada (1-1) and Cádiz (0-0), while the match in and against Sevilla has been postponed. The first Champions League match with Bayern Munich was lost without a chance: 0-3. A win is therefore more than welcome.
Barcelona line-up: Ter Stegen; Mingueza, Pique, Eric Garcia, Dest; Busquets, Gavi, Gonzalez; Coutinho, Luuk de Jong and Depay.