With Barcelona assured of a first place finish in their Champions League group, manager Ernesto Valverde should rest his star players against Sporting.
Barcelona will play their last Champions League group stage match against Sporting CP at Camp Nou on Wednesday night. However, the Blaugrana have nothing to play for since they’ve already advanced to the knockout stages. Not only will they be there, they’ll be advancing as group winners once again. Despite Barca not having anything to play for, Sporting do have a chance to reach the knockout rounds depending on this game and the result of the Juventus vs. Olympiakos match.
With this in mind, the month of December has been difficult for the Blaugrana. In the most recent match against Celta Vigo, Samuel Umtiti got a hamstring injury that will sideline him for the rest of the calendar year. This leaves Valverde with choices at center back like an unfit Javier Mascherano or little-used Thomas Vermaelen. Along with that, the team has played opponents like Valencia and Juventus in tough matches away from home.
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In addition to that, the Blaugrana have a trip to a tough place in Villarreal this weekend. Of course, there is the looming first installment of El Clasico at the Bernabeu against Real Madrid late in December. With this in mind and nothing to play for against Sporting, Ernesto Valverde should rest some of his star players. Players like Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Gerard Pique and Sergio Busquets should get the day off.
With nothing to play for in the next match, this is the perfect opportunity to rest any lingering knocks, injuries, etc. However, Valverde mentioned that the fans always want to see the big stars play when they come to Camp Nou. Despite this, Valverde knows that rest would be the right choice of the options that he has for this match.
"“It’s a game where we’re not playing for anything from a qualification point of view and we’re happy for that, but we know that our opponents will be coming to win and we like the Champions League and we have an obligation to our public. We could make changes, but we know the importance of the game.”Ernesto Valverde on the match against Sporting"
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Overall, Barcelona should look to bring in a squad of backup players for this match against Sporting CP. Players like Jasper Cillessen and Lucas Digne should get the chance to feature in a match like this. We will see what Ernesto Valvede comes up with for this match as Barcelona are looking to get through this one unscathed.