Barcelona are set to begin a new era after Lionel Messi. The Blaugrana bid one of the hardest farewells to their beloved star but as Ronald Koeman said that now is the time to close the book and focus on the new season. The Catalans start their La Liga campaign on Sunday against Real Sociedad at Camp Nou.
Barcelona are also set to welcome fans back to Camp Nou in the La Liga after March 2020. Coincidentally, the last official game Barca played with a filled stadium was also against Real Sociedad which the Catalans won 1-0, thanks to a certain Argentine who lit up the Camp Nou on uncountable occasions.
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The Barcelona board is scratching their heads and is in a race against time to register new signings before the first game. If the club fails to do so, Eric Garcia and Memphis Depay will be unavailable for the Sociedad game. Sergio Aguero is injured and is out for 8-10 weeks.
However, developments in recent hours suggest that Depay and Garcia will be registered before the La Liga clash which will come as welcome news to Koeman. On the injury front, Frenkie de Jong was reportedly out for three weeks but has trained normally and is likely to start against La Real. Ansu Fati and Ousmane Dembele remains the long term absentee.
Here is the Barcelona predicted line-up vs Real Sociedad:
Goalkeeper: Neto
With first choice goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen recovering and recuperating from his knee surgery, Neto is likely to start in between the posts. Ter Stegen is in his final stretch of recovery but is still expected to miss the opening few weeks of La Liga action.
It is a rare opportunity for Neto, who has just featured for Barca 17 times since his move to Catalonia in summer 2019. Neto will only be making his 10th Barca appearance in La Liga and will be hoping to put on a solid performance to impress his suitors. The Brazilian is touted to leave Barcelona with Arsenal emerging as a possible destination for the 32 year old.