Arthur & Junior Dropped Again As Dembélé & Umtiti Return

For the second time in three games, Brazilian midfielder Arthur has been dropped from FC Barcelona’s matchday squad and will not play any part in Tuesday’s Champions League clash against Slavia Prague at the Camp Nou.

The same logic applies to left-back Junior Firpo, yet Barça will be boosted by the returns of French duo Ousmane Dembélé and Samuel Umtiti.

With Luis Suarez out injured for a period of three weeks, Dembélé has the chance to occupy the left side of attack on the front line, however leading media outlets in Catalonia see 17-year-old Ansu Fati getting the nod instead.

Down the centre, though, Antoine Griezmann has a real chance to shine in the Uruguayan striker’s central spot as part of an attacking trio completed by Lionel Messi.

As seen in the 5-1 romp against Valladolid in FCB’s last home fixture, a midfield of Frenkie de Jong, Sergio Busquets and Arturo Vidal is expected to be put out by Ernesto Valverde.

In defence, Umtiti will not be rushed back into action while the centre-back pairing of Gerard Pique and Clement Lenglet thrashed 3-1 by Levante at the weekend will apparently remain unchanged.

Jordi Alba returns at left-back, meaning Nelson Semedo, one of the few bright sparks at the Estadi Ciutat de València when filling-in for the Spaniard, can return to the right.

Between the sticks, Ter Stegen seeks to get a disrupted run of clean sheets back under away as do the team in general after their run of seven straight victories across all competitions was so brutally disrupted in La Liga.

The hosts will look to avoid a repeat of what occured in this fixture a fortnight ago in the Czech capital. Taking an early lead with a Messi goal set up through a neat one-two with Arthur, the Blaugrana, as has been seen on far too many occasions on the road this season, let their opponents back into the game.

They conceded an equaliser by coming out sloppy after the break, and though Luis Suarez forced Peter Olayinka into scoring an own goal to put 1-2 them ahead, Slavia’s press overran the Liga champions until the 94th minute and they were unlucky not to finish the evening with a point or more.

Such developments caused friction in the changing room when Ter-Stegen criticised the display to Movistar post-match, but Barça will attempt to put this and Saturday’s humiliation behind them by extending their lead in Group F with a convincing vitory that will get fans and pundits off their backs, if only momentarily.

This match will be played at the earlier time of 18.55 in Spain and by coming out on top, Barcelona can open up a six-point lead prior to Borrusia Dortmund’s hosting of Inter Milan two hours later. Though qualification to the knockout rounds cannot be guaranteed just now, Ernesto Valverde’s men would edge ever closer to it through the right sequence of results going their way.