Real Valladolid-Barcelona: Marc-Andre Ter Stegen in line for return

Barcelona return to La Liga action on Saturday as they take on already-relegated Real Valladolid at the Estadio Jose Zorrilla. A victory for Hansi Flick’s side would see them move seven points clear of Real Madrid, who are not in action until Sunday.

With this match sandwiched in between the two legs of their Champions League semi-final tie against Inter, Barcelona are expected to rest a number of starters for the trip to Valladolid. And according to Sport, exactly eight changes will be made by Flick to the side that took to the field on Wednesday at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys.

The big news is that Marc-Andre Ter Stegen will make his first appearance in over seven months. The German goalkeeper suffered a serious knee injury in September, and having made his return to the matchday squad for last weekend’s Copa del Rey, he is now expected to take to the field for the first time in 2025.

Andreas Christensen made his first appearance in eight months when he came on against Inter in midweek, and he is also expected to start. Hector Fort, Ronald Araujo, Gavi, Fermin Lopez, Ansu Fati and Pau Victor are in line to come into the side too, with Gerard Martin, Frenkie de Jong and Ferran Torres being the only ones to remain in the line-up from the Inter match.

Valladolid will be out to restore some pride against Barcelona, as that is all they have left to play for. They lost the reverse fixture 7-0 earlier in the season, so they will hope to cause an upset. Former La Masia star Adam Aznou is in line to start for La Pucela, and the attacking threat is expected to come from Raul Moro, who is expected to leave in the summer.

Barcelona should win this one comfortably, but the expected changes does give Valladolid more of a chance to cause an upset. Nothing can be taken for granted by the Catalans, who need to win in order to keep Real Madrid at arm’s length.