Barcelona will entertain Tottenham Hotspur at the Nou Camp on Tuesday night having already sealed passage through to the next round as the winners of Group B. However Spurs would need to match Inter Milan’s result in midweek if they are to qualify for the UEFA Champions League Round of 16.
The visitors could line up in a 4-2-3-1 formation to counter Barca’s 4-3-3 set-up. Mauricio Pochettino has to name his strongest XI for this European encounter, but Ernesto Valverde would have the luxury to rotate his team which could hand the North London giants an advantage in this contest.
Team News
Barcelona
Valverde won’t be able to call upon Malcom’s services as he is currently out injured with a sprained ankle. The likes of Rafinha, Sergi Roberto, Samuel Umtiti and Arthur Melo are all long-term casualties and won’t take part on Tuesday night.
Tottenham Hotspur
Pochettino will be sweating on the fitness of both Serge Aurier and Kieran Trippier as they are in a race against time to be fit for this contest at the Nou Camp. Erik Lamela is also likely to miss out in midweek as he continues his recovery from a thigh injury.
Predicted Lineups
Barcelona
Jasper Cillessen; Nelson Semedo, Gerard Pique, Thomas Vermaelen, Juan Miranda, Carles Aleñá, Arturo Vidal, Denis Suarez; Phillipe Coutinho, Munir El Haddadi, Lionel Messi
Tottenham Hotspur
Hugo Lloris; Kyle Walker-Peters, Toby Alderweireld, Jan Vertonghen, Ben Davies; Eric Dier, Moussa Sissoko, Dele Alli, Christian Eriksen, Heung-min Son; Harry Kane
Key Men
Barcelona
Lionel Messi will once again be Barca’s main threat going forward. The duo of Pique and Vermaelen would also play a significant part in determining the fate of this contest. The Barca defence will come up against two in-form forwards in Harry Kane and Heung-min Son, so they need to find a way to keep them quiet on the night.
Tottenham Hotspur
Harry Kane will have to find the back of the net if Spurs are to come away with maximum points from Catalunya. A lot will also rest on the young shoulders of Kyle Walker-Peters who could feature as a right-back in place of the injured, Aurier.
Odds
Barcelona win – 11/10
Draw – 16/5
Tottenham Hotspur win – 11/5
