Official: Barcelona announce squad for the encounter vs Atletico Madrid

As Barcelona gear up to host Atletico Madrid at the Camp Nou for gameweek 35 of the La Liga season, Ronald Koeman called the game “important, but not decisive”. While that seems like an excuse, he may be right, given the Real Madrid and Sevilla are yet to play each other in the same gameweek, and that all teams look exhausted beyond belief.

The onus is on the 23 men called up to make a difference against Diego Simeone’s men. Barça fans will be happy to know Martin Braithwaite has returned to the team, and will be available for selection. He might come in handy in the 3-5-2 setup for the club, and could replace Antoine Griezmann if push comes to shove.

Ilaix Moriba, too, has been called up, as has been the case so often this season. The La Masia midfielder has been a regular off the bench, and Koeman sees him as the first-choice alternative for any change he needs to make to the team.

The squad for #BarçaAtleti! pic.twitter.com/aWtfHDoy8c

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) May 7, 2021

Full list: ter Stegen, Neto, Tenas; Dest, Roberto, Mingueza, Pique, Araujo, Lenglet, Umtiti, Alba, Firpo; Busquets, Ilaix, de Jong, Pedri, Puig, Pjanic; Dembele, Messi, Trincão, Griezmann, Braithwaite

Absentees: Ansu Fati (knee), Phillipe Coutinho (knee)

Barcelona have certainly overcome a lot of obstacles to reach this position in the La Liga, and tomorrow could very well be the game that decides the outcome of the league. Antoine Griezmann is yet to make any difference against his former club, but his impressive form suggests that tomorrow could be the day, and Barça fans surely hope that it will be.