Barcelona are set to rest star duo Luis Suarez and Marc-André ter Stegen from their starting XI in Tuesday night’s Champions League showdown against Tottenham, according to Guillem Balague.
The Spanish football expert reported on his personal Twitter account on Tuesday morning that Spurs will be facing a weakened Barca side for the pivotal clash later in the day.
Balague explained it is expected that goalkeeper Ter Stegen and striker Suarez will start on the bench and there will be “other changes” in a match in which he anticipates the Spanish champions’ levels will drop.
Barcelona will be strong but it is expected Luis Suarez and Ter Stegen might start on the bench. There will be other changes. Plus when there is nothing to compete for, the level can drop #BarçaSpurs https://t.co/fE49fHzXxr
— Guillem Balague (@GuillemBalague) December 11, 2018
OPINION
Given that Barcelona have already qualified for the Champions League knockout stages, there is a growing sense this match could be there for the taking for Spurs, who must match the result of second-place rivals Inter Milan to finish in the top two of a group that will be topped by the Spanish big guns. It must give real hope to Mauricio Pochettino and his players that Barcelona are set to rest Suarez and Ter Stegen, and possibly a number of other big guns, too. Certainly, the Uruguayan striker, who finished 13th in this year’s Ballon D’Or and the German goalkeeper are key men for the hosts, who top the Spanish league and have spent vast sums on the likes of Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele in the last two years and rise back to the top of Europe. Spurs’ task remains a daunting one, but their players have been given a glimmer of hope that they would not have otherwise had if Barcelona’s place in the knockouts was in the balance.