Luis Enrique is likely to welcome Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez back into the lineup as they travel to face Celtic in the Champions League.
Barcelona were without the superstar duo of Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez over the weekend, but both forwards are scheduled to return for the game against Celtic. French defenders Samuel Umtiti and Jeremy Mathieu are injured for the game, which means that Luis Enrique is likely to deploy the pairing of Javier Mascherano and Gerard Pique at the back.
Elsewhere, Andres Iniesta is out with a knee injury. As such, Denis Suarez is likely to start alongside Sergio Busquets and Ivan Rakitic in midfield. However, Luis Enrique may choose to start Andre Gomes instead of Denis. It would be interesting to see if the manager decides to rest any of his key stars or if he fields a full-strength squad against Celtic in light of fixture congestion.
Meanwhile, Brendan Rodgers has only a few injury concerns to take care of ahead of Barcelona’s visit. 19-year-old Kieran Tierney is out for the game which all but guarantees Emilio Izaguirre’s deployment in the left-back position. Kris Commons, who has been out for around six months, has finally returned to training but the game comes too early for the midfielder.
Leigh Griffiths is a major doubt for the game and may not be risked by Brendan Rodgers. All eyes, though, will be on Celtic’s in-form young striking sensation, Mousa Dembele, whose performances have already attracted the interest of many European elites, including Barcelona. The youngster will be eager to give a good account of his abilities on Wednesday night.
Barcelona have already handed Celtic a 7-0 thrashing at Nou Camp and would be looking for a similar performance on Wednesday.
