Lionel Messi is expected back for Wednesday’s Champions League quarter-final first leg against Roma and for Barcelona his return cannot come soon enough.
Here, we look at the main talking points ahead of the clash at Camp Nou.
SAME AGAIN FOR VALVERDE?
Ernesto Valverde
With Lionel Messi shrugging off the hamstring injury which ruled him out of Argentina’s recent friendlies, the only remaining fitness concern for Barcelona boss Ernesto Valverde is Sergio Busquets, who has not played since suffering a foot injury during the second leg of the previous round’s victory over Chelsea.
However, Busquets was able to train fully on Tuesday so it appears the experienced midfielder is ready to resume his usual place in the starting line-up, allowing Valverde to field his strongest possible team.
That increasingly looks like containing a place for winger Ousmane Dembele, whose gradual elevation to starter status has been the big change instigated by Valverde over the last few weeks.
The French starlet is finally beginning to justify the lofty price tag which secured his transfer from Borussia Dortmund, with his pace and penetration down the right wing adding a new element to the team’s attacking play.
So everything points towards Valverde repeating the same eleven that started the second leg against Chelsea, and right now it’s difficult to pick many holes in Barca’s ‘gala eleven’, with everyone in good form and the team more or less picking itself.
DENIS IS A VIABLE BENCH OPTION?
Denis Suarez
It’s just as well that Valverde is not afflicted by injuries, because his bench options are looking generally rather unappealing at the moment with players like Paulinho, Paco Alcacer and Lucas Digne looking well below the required standards.
One exception, perhaps, is attacking midfielder Denis Suarez, who was in danger of becoming the forgotten man after being left out of several matchday squads to suggest that he had completely lost the confidence of his coach. However, Denis was finally given a chance to impress from the bench during Saturday’s game at former club Sevilla – his first league outing since January – and he played a full enough role in that comeback to suggest that he could become far more prominent in Valverde’s plans.
If Barca suffer an injury or need to make a tactical change, Paulinho would probably still be Valverde’s first choice to freshen things up. But at least the more refined skills of Denis might at least now figure in his thinking.
ROMA GOING FOR GOALS?
Edin Dzeko
The old established idea that a goalless draw is a good result for the away team in the first leg of a knockout tie is quickly becoming obsolete, with Manchester United becoming the latest to discover the importance of an away goal when they failed to gain one in the last sixteen against Sevilla and eventually paid the full price.
Realistically, Roma cannot expect to keep Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and co scoreless over two full games, and the Italian team would be well advised to avoid falling into the trap of believing that defence is their only priority at Camp Nou for this first leg.
They have plenty of attacking options, with veteran target man Edin Dzeko netting four goals so far in this Champions League campaign and adding 14 more in Serie A, while mercurial Italian international Stephan El-Sharaawy always capable of conjuring up a piece of magic.
But perhaps more importantly than the identity of the individuals, Roma coach Eusebio Di Francesco will have to give his players the confidence to genuinely believe they can put Barca’s defence under pressure. If they don’t, the tie could be effectively settled this week.
