Barcelona vs. Athletic Club line-ups as Paco Alcacer starts
Luis Enrique has made a number of changes for Saturday's game, with Vidal & Mathieu starting, too
Win, win or win. There is no alternative. Barcelona must beat Athletic Club to stay in the title race but Luis Enrique has chosen to rotate his team heavily for the game.
Paco Alcacer was picked to start for just the third time in La Liga, with Luis Suarez rested, forming an attacking trident with Neymar and Leo Messi. The Uruguayan has 11 goals in 12 games and is in red hot form.
But the rotations don’t end there. Although Ter Stegen, Umtiti and Pique start, the rest of the team is packed with reserves.
The full-backs are Jeremy Mathieu and Aleix Vidal, while Andre Gomes plays the pivot role in the absence of the injured Sergio Busquets. Rafinha and Arda fill the other two spots, with Iniesta still injured.
FC BARCELONA: Ter Stegen; Aleix Vidal, Piqué, Umtiti, Mathieu; Rafinha, André Gomes, Arda Turan; Messi, Paco Alcácer, Neymar.
BENCH: Cillessen, Rakitic, Denis, Luis Suárez, Mascherano, Jordi Alba, Sergi Roberto.
ATHLETIC: Iraizoz; De Marcos, Yeray, Laporte, Balenziaga; Lekue, San José, Iturraspe, Raúl García, Munian; WIlliams.
