Barcelona host Tottenham in the Champions League on Tuesday night, and coach Ernesto Valverde has confirmed his squad for the encounter.
The Catalan giants sit top of Group B and have secured top spot already with a game to spare, and so this week’s clash means little to them in the bigger picture.
That is not the case for Spurs and Inter though, who are both locked on seven points and so the last round of group fixtures will determine who goes through to the knockout stage with Barcelona.
In turn, it will arguably be a relief from Inter’s perspective that Valverde has named a very strong squad with all his senior stars included, and there is a return for Arthur after his recent injury trouble.
As seen in the tweets below, it appears as though the Brazilian’s inclusion has delighted countless fans in particular, with many expressing their joy over seeing the Brazilian starlet back in contention and potentially available to feature in Valverde’s starting line-up.
It remains to be seen if he does indeed get the nod from the start, but ultimately there is a strong message being delivered by many supporters too, and that is to rest key individuals in what is essentially a nothing match for the Spanish champions, as seen below.
Given the circumstances, it does seem like an ideal opportunity to rotate and keep his influential players fresh and away from injury risks, but time will tell if Valverde does make plenty of changes to his line-up and risks infuriating Inter who will be looking for a favour from them while they take on PSV Eindhoven.
[SQUAD LIST]
? #BarçaSpurs
?? #ForçaBarça pic.twitter.com/K9AgNSmYvr— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) December 10, 2018
What’s the thing with not picking Riqui and Oriol when this statistically is a pointless game?
— tobbe (@Hamriin) December 10, 2018
Arthur you are welcome
— Gbadegesin Rasheed (@GbadegesinRash7) December 10, 2018
Please rest some key players!
— Julius Probst (@JuliusProbst) December 10, 2018
Arthur
— AMJAD Culé (@o_Firmino) December 10, 2018
Arthur is back!!
— Ruben Ortega. FIRMINISTA (@Ruben__Firmino) December 10, 2018
Welcome Back @arthurhromelo ???
— Rakan | ?????? ? (@rakan_odibat) December 10, 2018
Arthur ?
— rebecca (@runninnloww) December 10, 2018
IF VALVERDE PLAYS THE STARTING 11 IM GONNA BE SO MAD
— ChaymlessChay? (@Chaylizzzle) December 10, 2018
Arthur!!!!!!
— King Vlad and 103 others (@bry_ann_) December 10, 2018
Welcome back @arthurhromelo
— ???? (@saidnasirsaid2) December 10, 2018
Arthur ?
— Muhammed (@mo_bello16) December 10, 2018
Arthur??????
— ???? (@azozalahli13) December 10, 2018
He should rest main players in this match. Barca is already first of group no matter what. While spurs will be fighting in this match for 3 points so it is good opportunity for bench players to try themselves
— Oda (@Odanoss) December 11, 2018
FFS! What’s wrong with this coach? Why do we have to rely on the likes of Messi, Suarez, et al for dummy games? We have an army of young talent on the bench waiting to prove themselves….this man will destroy us!
— I (@kimdoomdoom) December 10, 2018
This guy is going to start the first team in a match he doesn’t need to win. ??
— Tembo (@AbelIsrael11) December 10, 2018
Some first team players should’nt even be there ITS A POINTLESS GAME rest them, we don’t care if we lose inter should have won against spurs we’re not going to do their job
— ChaymlessChay? (@Chaylizzzle) December 10, 2018
Rest everyone. Let Mats, Busquets and Messi alone play. We’d win comfortably…
— Dylan™ (@football_4_lyf) December 10, 2018