Philippe Coutinho makes first Barcelona start since December against Granada

Philippe Coutinho makes his first Barcelona start since December 2020 in tonight’s La Liga clash with Granada.

The Brazilian winger has been drafted into the starting XI as boss Ronald Koeman battles against an injury crisis in Catalonia this month.

The Dutchman makes four changes to his first XI following their Champions League defeat to Bayern Munich last time out.

Coutinho comes into the midfield in place of teenage star Pedri with Alex Balde and Sergino Dest coming into the defence in place of Gerard Pique and Jordi Alba.

Luuk de Jong is also rotated out of the team with Austrian star Yusuf Demir replacing him in attack.

Kick off at the Camp Nou is at 9pm local time and a win for Koeman will bring La Blaugrana up to at least 4th in the table overnight.

BARCELONA STARTING XI V GRANADA

Ter Stegen; Dest, Araujo, Garcia, Balde; Roberto, Busquets, De Jong; Coutinho, Memphis, Demir

Tags Alex Balde Eric Garcia Jordi Alba Luuk De Jong Pedri Philippe Coutinho Ronald Koeman Sergino Dest Yusuf Demir
La Liga - Club News