Xavi makes five changes with respect to the last match against Real Sociedad
Joao Cancelo recovers his natural position as right back after two games as a winger
Barça faces Shakhtar this Tuesday on the fourth day of the group stage of the Champions League. The match is being held at the Volksparkstadion in Hamburg due to the open war in Ukraine due to the attempted invasion of Russia and The Blaugrana team can certify its mathematical classification for the round of 16 of the top European competition.
The team led by Xavi only needs one point to seal its presence in the crossroads. A tie that would also allow them to continue depending on themselves to qualify as first in Group H.
The Blaugrana face the match reinforced by their hard-fought victory in Anoeta, against Real Sociedad (0-1). A victory that has allowed them to reduce the difference with Real Madrid to two points and not lose ground with the surprising leader, Girona.
In addition to the importance of the result, the match comes at a good time to give minutes to players who have just come out of injury, as is the case of Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, Jules Koundé or Pedriwhether starting or coming off the bench.
The infirmary has been left with only two tenants, Frenkie de Jong and Sergi Roberto, who continue to recover from their respective injuries.
Barça will face a Shakhtar team also reinforced by its recent victories against Viktoriya Mykolaivka (0-3) in the Ukrainian Cup and against Dinamo Kiev (0-1) in the League. The arrival of Marino Pusic to the bench has suited him well and he already showed it in Montjuïc, putting the Blaugrana team in a lot of trouble.
Barça’s lineup to face Shakhtar
As we already reported in SPORT, Xavi has decided to give a break to Joao Félix, who has played practically everything since his arrival. In fact, it is his first substitution since he debuted as a starter on matchday five, against Betis, where he contributed to the win with a double.
Xavi has also decided to be cautious with Jules Koundé, coming out of an injury. And he reserves strength with Alejandro Balde, which also adds a lot of effort to his legs. They also fall from the eleven with respect to the duel against Rea Sociedad Iñigo Martínez and Fermínfor the benefit of Andreas Christensen and Oriol Romeu.
The other novelty is that Joao Cancelo recovers his natural position as right back, after two games in which Xavi has advanced his position to place Ronald Araujo behind. Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha will continue to accumulate minutes after overcoming their respective injuries.
Thus, this is the eleven that Xavi Hernández presents to try to seal qualification for the round of 16:
Ter Stegenin goal; I cancel, Araujo, Christensen and Marcos Alonsoin defence; Gundogan, Oriol Romeu and Gavi, in the center of the field; and Raphinha, Lewandowski and Ferran Torresin attack.