Piqué and Koundé to start Man City charity match

Xavi Hernández has to carefully manage his squad and think about the needs of his players, with the next match against Valladolid in mind. Which is why he will be making changes for tonight’s charity match against Manchester City - A Great Game for a Greater Cause, with proceeds going to the ALS Research Foundation. One of the players who will be affected is Jules Koundé, who has still not yet been able to debut as a Barcelona player due to financial fair play restrictions. The French central defender is waiting until the club finds a gap in the wage bill so that they can register him. Against City, he will partner Gerard Piqué, who also has yet to appear in official competition this season, but for technical reasons, as Xavi prefers Christensen and Eric Garcia as his centre-back pairing.

A player who definitely won’t be in the XI is Ronald Araújo, who could be rested as he is suffering a minor fitness problem. Xavi plans to reserve Araújo, as well as Ousmane Dembélé. Pedri and Lewandowski meanwhile, will not be in the starting XI as they are two of the players who have accumulated the most playing time so far this season so they will start on the bench and could be handed half an hour in the second half.

Two other summer reinforcements, Kessié and Raphinha, are expected to feature in the starting line-up against Guardiola’s team.

Adiós Auba

What role Aubameyang and Memphis will be given tonight is yet to be decided. Xavi wants the fans to be able to say goodbye to the Gabonese striker, which indicates that he will probably start, while the Dutch striker will play for at least half an hour. Ansu Fati will also be given minutes, to build his confidence, while Frenkie de Jong will be another of the game’s great attractions, as his future is still being discussed, both inside and outside of the club.