Coach Ronald Koeman has announced the lineup of Barcelona players departing for Italy to prepare for the match against Juventus. The two giants of European football will face each other at the Allianz Stadium in the second round of the Champions League group stage of the 2020-21 season.
Notably, Barca's call-up list does not include Gerard Pique and Philippe Coutinho. While the Spanish centre-back was suspended for a red card in the opening match against Ferencvaros 5-1, the Brazilian midfielder suffered a hamstring injury in the El Clasico against Real Madrid last weekend.
With Pique suspended, and Samuel umtiti not recovering from injury, the Dutch coach only has 2 full-backs left to face Juve's attacking players. They were Clement Lenglet - the player who fouled Sergio Ramos for the 11m kick in El Clasico, and Ronald Araujo - the then 21-year-old centre-back who was not often on the field.
Goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen is also absent due to injury, while young midfielder Manuel Fernandes is not called up. Replacing Ter Stegen, Neto will face his former team.
The challenge for Barca is that they have never won against Juve in Turin. From the Fair Cup in the 1970-71 season to the Champions League in the 2017-18 season, Barca have drawn 3 and lost 3 times at the home stadium of the cu Da.
