With Barcelona’s trip to Cadiz on Saturday sandwiched between the two legs of their Champions League quarter-final tie against Paris Saint-Germain, Xavi Hernandez would have been keen to avoid picking up any injury problems ahead of the return leg at the Estadi Olimpic on Tuesday.
He’s reduced the chances of this happening as best as he can, with nine changes made to the side for the match at the Nuevo Mirandilla. The only survivors from the first leg in Paris, which Barcelona won 3-2, are Marc-Andre Ter Stegen and Pau Cubarsi, who lines up in the centre of defence alongside Andreas Christensen, who scored the winner against PSG, but is suspended for the return leg.
🚨 OFFICIAL: The lineup! pic.twitter.com/GklpHrhji5
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) April 13, 2024
It means that Vitor Roque makes only his second start for Barcelona since arriving in January, while Ferran Torres is also back in the line-up for the first time after his injury recovery. There are also rare appearances for Marcos Alonso and Oriol Romeu.
It’s still a relatively strong squad that Barcelona have produced, as they aim to stay in the La Liga title race, especially ahead of El Clasico next weekend. Still, Cadiz will surely fancy their chances of picking up a big result in their battle to avoid relegation.
