Squad Announced For Barça Match

Freshly nicked from the official club site, here is the squad for tomorrow night's match against Barcelona at the Coliseum:

Goalkeepers: 1. Ustari; 13. Pato.

Defenders 3. Cata Díaz; 5. Mario; 12. Licht; 21. D. Cortés; 23. Tena.

Midfielders: 10. De la Red; 11. Sousa; 15. Nacho; 16. Albín; 20. Pallardó; 22. J. Casquero; 24. Pablo Hernández; 25. Granero.

Attackers: 14. Manu; 17. Kepa; 18. Uche.

No real surprises there; Cosmin Contra's still out, but David Cortes is back and may replace Pallardo (who, incidentally, is a Spanish U-21 callup; more on that later.) Other than that, the lineup may be completely unchanged, more's the pity: it seems that Belenguer needs another (two) week(s) on the sidelines (due to the internationals.)

Anyway. Miguel Pallardo and Esteban Granero, take a bow, as the pair of them have been summoned for Inaki Saez's Spain U-21 squad. Here's hoping that they come back injury-free and richer for the experience. Neither is any stranger to the national setup, of course, and both are only here on loan, but it's good to see that they're gaining recognition.

Meanwhile, Ikechukwu Uche has told Marca that the team is in high spirits and will aim for the win. Well, he's hardly going to say anything else, is he? Nonetheless, there's no arguing with the wee chap: squad morale seems much, much higher now than it was a month ago.

Oh, and Barcelona have Gianluca Zambrotta back in the squad. No Eto'o, though, thankfully.