Lionel Messi Set To Play For Barcelona In Wembley Cup

By London_Duncan Last edited 176 months ago
Lionel Messi Set To Play For Barcelona In Wembley Cup

Just a quick update for those thinking of going along to watch Barcelona in the Wembley Cup this lunchtime. Manager Pep Guardiola said after Friday's match with Tottenham that Lionel Messi (above) is likely to play forty-five minutes against African champions Al Ahly today. Messi actually cut short the holiday time that the club offered him to be with the squad in London. Thierry Henry has also travelled, but will definitely not play as he is recuperating from a knee injury. You should expect to see ex-Chelsea stalwart Eidur Gudjohnsen again as Guardiola tries to persuade him to stay around a bit longer.

Of the other well known Barca players, Gerard Piqué, Carlos Puyol, Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Dani Alves, Sergio Busquets, Gabriel Milito and Thiago have not travelled to the tournament, while Samuel Eto'o is in the process of finalising a swap move with Zlatan Ibrahimovic of Inter Milan. Former Arsenal man Alexander Hleb, though listed with the tournament players, is also thought to be part of that package and may not appear today.

Three other first team squad members might feature who were not seen against Spurs: Champions League winning keeper, Victor Valdes, new Brazilian full back Maxwell and experienced Mexican stopper Rafael Marquez who missed the Rome final through injury.

Below is a brief guide to the other outfield players who could be on show.

The remaining Senior players are:

Martin Caceres - 22 year old centre, and occasionally full, back with 15 caps for Uruguay

Victor Sanchez - 21 year old utility defender with 8 appearances for Barcelona

Henrique Adriano - 22 year old centre back with 1 cap for Brazil and a German cup finalist on loan at Bayer Leverkusen last term

Eric Abidal - well known French international left back who missed the Champions League final through suspension

Seydou Keita - 29 year old defensive midfielder with 49 appearances and 13 goals for Mali who also scored against Arsenal in a rare defeat for them at the Emirates two years ago

Yaya Toure - 26 year old younger brother of Arsenal's Kolo starting his third season at Barca

Bjoan Krkic - At 18, the striker already has a Spanish cap to go with 54 appearances and a dozen goals for Barcelona. He scored in a friendly against Al Ahly in 2007 and against Spurs on Friday.

Pedro Rodriguez 'Pedrito' - Attacking Spanish U21 winger who played one minute of the Champions League final

Notable amongst the youth squad players are:

Marc Muniesa - a 17 year old already being labelled as the new Puyol and heavily tipped for major stardom. On the bench in Rome.

Victor Espasandin - a 24 year old designated as a left back but had a lively run out up front against Spurs

Jeffren Suarez - Another Spanish U21 winger. Has two first team appearances and could yet choose to play for his native Venezuela

Ruben Rochina - A striker with a reputation as a dead ball specialist

Gai Yigaal Assulin - 18 year old Israeli attacking prodigy who became his country's youngest ever international last year. Debuted for Barca when only 16 and linked with top clubs in England.

Last Updated 26 July 2009