MADRID: Into the final of the Copa del Rey and with a comfortable 11-point lead at the top of La Liga, Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde is expected to give a number of fringe players a chance when they visit bottom side Huesca on Saturday. Treble-chasing Barca, who hold a 1-0 lead going into the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Man United next Tuesday, are comfortably ahead of second-placed Atletico Madrid, while great rivals Real sit 13 points behind the Catalans with just seven games to go. The coach is almost certain to leave out Lionel Messi, whose nose was left bloodied and bruised by a robust challenge against United. “He’s got a significant bruise and we’ll have to see what the scans say,” Valverde explained. Barcelona’s Brazilian duo Philippe Coutinho and Malcom will be particularly keen to impress. Coutinho, who joined Barcelona last January for a club record £142 million from Liverpool, has flattered to deceive in Catalonia, unable to nail down a regular starting berth and was taken off after another anonymous hour in Wednesday’s Champions League victory. Malcom, meanwhile, has made just two La Liga starts this season and will look to use the opportunity to force his way into Valverde’s plans for the tail end of the season. “We’ll see how everyone is, but there’s not a lot of turnaround so it’s quite possible we’ll make changes for Saturday,” Valverde told a news conference.
Valverde set to ring the changes for treble-chasing Barcelona
Published on: April 12, 2019 3:44 AM