Barcelona squad named for Newcastle 1st leg

Barcelona have confirmed the 22-man travelling party that will face Newcastle United in Tuesday’s Champions League Round of 16 first leg at St. James’ Park, with head coach Hansi Flick able to call upon an almost fully-fit squad despite the club’s ongoing injury crisis.

Goalkeepers Joan Garcia, Wojciech Szczesny and teenage prospect Diego Kochen make the trip, while the defensive contingent features João Cancelo, Ronald Araujo, Pau Cubarsí, Gerard Martín, Eric Garcia, Álvaro Cortés and academy graduate Xavi Espart. Midfield options include Pedri, Fermín López, Marc Casadó, Dani Olmo, Marc Bernal and Tommy Marqués, and the forward line is bolstered by Ferran Torres, Robert Lewandowski, Lamine Yamal, Raphinha, January acquisition Marcus Rashford and Swedish teenager Roony Bardghji.

The club reported no new injury setbacks following the recent league fixture in Bilbao, leaving the casualty list unchanged: Jules Kounde, Alejandro Balde and Frenkie de Jong remain sidelined with hamstring issues, Andreas Christensen is still recovering from a knee complaint, and Gavi has travelled with the group but has not yet received medical clearance to play.

Barcelona’s projected starting XI points to a 4-2-3-1 shape with Szczesny in goal; a back four of Cancelo, Araujo, Cubarsí and Martín; a double pivot of Bernal and Pedri; an attacking trident of Yamal, Fermín and Raphinha behind central striker Lewandowski.

Kick-off is scheduled for 9 p.m. CET/WAT, 8 p.m. GMT, 4 p.m. ET, 1 p.m. PT and 1:30 a.m. IST (Wednesday).