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Barcelona’s injury problems have eased ahead of Saturday’s crucial Champions League clash against Napoli at the Camp Nou.
The Catalan giants confirmed on Friday that Antoine Griezmann, Clement Lenglet, and Ronald Araujo have all been passed fit for the second leg of their last-16 tie with Gennaro Gattuso’s side.
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The return of the trio will be welcomed by manager Quique Setien. Lenglet should go straight back into the starting XI alongside Gerard Pique in central defense, while Araujo will provide some much-needed defensive back-up.
Griezmann could also come back into the team in attack alongside Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi. The Frenchman scored Barcelona’s equalizer in the 1-1 draw in the first leg of the tie back in February.
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Still No Umtiti and Dembele For Barcelona
However, Barcelona’s injury problems are not completely over. Samuel Umtiti and Ousmane Dembele are still sidelined, and Setien offered an update on the French forward on Friday.
“We thought about including him but unfortunately the training sessions that’s he been with the group have been few and the reality is that we don’t want to assume a massive risk.
“So I don’t know if at some moment we will be able to count on him but he still needs to gain confidence as well. I think that the best decision is not to include him.
“We thought maybe he could play a few minutes but we will see next week how he evolves, after more practice with the team, how his development is and if maybe then he can participate more.”
Dembele does appear to have a chance of featuring in the latter stages of the Champions League should Barcelona make it past Napoli. The 23-year-old has not featured since November due to injury, so Barca’s caution over his comeback is understandable.
Setien’s Already Decided His Starting XI
Setien confirmed in his pre-match press conference that he has already decided the 11 players who will start Saturday’s match, although he could still decide to tinker with the shape of his side.
“Tomorrow’s line-up has been quite decided for a few days, the position of some players may vary, but the line-up is decided.”
Griezmann’s place in the starting XI is not guaranteed but it is expected he will feature in the attack. Starlet Ansu Fati is another option for Barcelona but Griezmann’s experience means he’s more likely to get the nod.
The World Cup winner has not yet had the impact expected of a player who cost €120 million, but he’s still scored 15 goals for Barcelona this season and put in a fine performance alongside Messi and Suarez in the 4-1 win over Villarreal in July.
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