Exclusive: Umtiti wins battle with Mascherano & will start against Man City
Luis Enrique has made his mind up about who will partner Gerard Pique in Wednesday's Champions League game
Most people could predict, more or less, the side Barcelona will pick to face Manchester City on Wednesday with the news that Jordi Alba and Sergi Roberto will both be available after injuries, as revealed by SPORT.
There was just one position which was difficult to second guess, although it now seems Luis Enrique has made his mind up. With one more training session to come on Tuesday, the coach is set to bet on French defender Samuel Umtiti to partner Gerard Pique in defence. Therefore, Javier Mascherano, who played 90 minutes against Deportivo La Coruna on Saturday, will be left on the bench.
The first clue was in who played at the weekend, with Mascherano playing the whole game with no rest, despite only just returning from two demanding games with his national team. If Luis Enrique's intention was to play him against City, he would surely have given him more of a rest at some point.
But it wasn't until Monday that Umtiti was practically given the confirmation that he will start, given that before training he was given an instruction to intensify his work because Luis Enrique wants him for City.
Therefore, save injuries at the last minute, the side that will line up against Manchester City will be formed by Marc-Andre ter Stegen in goal; a defence of Sergi Roberto, Pique, Umititi and Alba; a midfield of Sergio Busquets, Ivan Rakitic and Andres Iniesta; and then the trident of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez.
To highlight two things with Umtiti: the Pique-Umtiti partnership has played four games and won four times, while the French defender will be the only summer signing present in Luis Enrique's Gala XI on Wednesday.
