After being laid low for the Malaga game due to a gastric virus, Lionel Messi is now fighting fit again and has been named in Barcelona's squad to face Celtic on Wednesday. Luis Suarez, who was also absent from the league game due to suspension, returns to the line up. Although the match is likely to be far from straightforward, the Catalans have the chance not just to qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League, but to finish top of the group if results elsewhere go their way. The squad consists of twenty players: Ter Stegen, Cillessen, Masip, Pique, Rakitic, Sergio, Denis, Arda Turan, Luis Suarez, Messi, Neymar Jr, Rafinha, Mascherano, Paco Alcacer, Jordi Alba, Digne, Roberto Sergi, Andre Gomes, Aleix Vidal and Marlon. Andres Iniesta, Samuel Umtiti and Jeremy Mathieu have not traveled due to injury.Barcelona's focus over the past few days has been centred around their pursuit of a cure, either to Lionel Messi's illness woes that struck on the weekend or the sickening feeling that the Blaugrana get when the Argentine isn't on the pitch.
Without their talisman it was a case of two points dropped against Malaga on the weekend, doubling Real Madrid's lead atop LaLiga and guaranteeing Zinedine Zidane's men the edge over their great rivals when they meet in the Clasico on December 3. The first step to salvation for Barcelona comes at Celtic Park, although with Messi in training and expected to be fit to start, their path looks emphatically clearer in the short-term at least. Since the 2014/15 season began, the forward has endured seven spells of injury in one form or another, and on his return the Catalans have claimed victory in six matches. In addition, the Glaswegians have made for something of a happy hunting ground for Messi in his five encounters with the Scottish champions, scoring six goals with three coming at Celtic Park. How exactly Barcelona are meant to cope without the Argentine will persist as a question for many in the coming months and even years, but while he's still fit and firing for the Blaugrana, very few of those worries will emanate from the Camp Nou.
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