Barcelona-Real Madrid combined XI
- by June Ramsey
- in Sports
- — Feb 6, 2019
Barcelona's Lionel Messi celebrates scoring their second goal.
Coutinho has a chance to impress tonight when Barcelona host bitter rivals Real Madrid in their Copa del Rey semi-final first leg tie.
It's the first of three El Clasico meetings on Wednesday. During the 15 minutes open to the media, a smiling Messi was seen doing some light jogging and taking part in a relaxed keep-ball session.
Clement Lenglet is expected to get the nod over Thomas Vermaelen, while we should see Jordi Alba and Arthur return to the team. "If he is fit, he will play and if he is not, he will not play".
"It is true that sometimes we have had doubts with players and we have waited until the last moment", Valverde was quoted as saying by BBC Football.
Barca face a testing period of fixtures, including three Clasicos in the next month.
There will also be two Champions League matches against Lyon to negotiate, as well as tricky league trips to Athletic Bilbao and Sevilla.
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While there is concern over Messi's fitness after some thigh discomfort against Valencia, Rafinha and Samuel Umtiti are confirmed as unavailable for this match. Valverde said he would wait to make a decision but optimisim is increasing at the Camp Nou ahead of the game on Wednesday.
That was the object of a question for Santiago Solari in Tuesday's pre-game press conference.
All eyes leading up to the game are on Lionel Messi and if the Argentine will play.
They arrive for the first-leg match at Camp Nou enjoying their best period of the season and with almost all of its players available.
Barcelona forward Ousmane Dembele is unlikely to be fit for the game, as he is still recovering from a hamstring injury.
Having a player of Lionel Messi's extraterrestrial caliber at one's disposal is obviously a privilege but rest of the Barcelona teammates needs to share responsibilities at crunch times.
When asked by Spanish radio station Cadena Cope if Barca would sell Coutinho should they receive an offer, Bartomeu said: "It's not, very young and we expect a lot from him".
