After a great start to the tournament, with three victories in the first three games, Barça promised themselves a very happy chance to advance to the round of 16 of the Champions League, a round they have not reached in the last two seasons. But the defeat against Shakhtar somewhat curbed those aspirations and this Tuesday Xavi's team will face a decisive match against Porto at the Montjuïc Olympic stadium. A key duel for which until the last minute he will not know if he can count on his starting goalkeeper and best player in the 2022-23 League, Marc-André Ter Stegen,
Xavi Hernández reported in the press conference prior to the match against the Portuguese, which corresponds to the fifth day of the group stage of the Champions League, that the German will test himself this Tuesday to see if in the end he can be part of the game. "He has practically not trained with the group, we have to see how he is in pain. Ter Stegen is one of the captains and is always there to add, we want to test to see if he can be one hundred percent and help us," he declared.
It is worth remembering that during the recent national team break, Ter Stegen had to leave the Germany camp early and returned to Barcelona due to lumbar problems.
The Barça goalkeeper's illness has not completely disappeared and could also keep him out of the duel against Porto. The German goalkeeper already missed the trip to Vallecas last Saturday, where Barça drew against Rayo Vallecano (1-1), a match in which youth player Iñaki Peña was chosen by Xavi to occupy the goal.
The visit of Sergio Conceiçao's team to Barcelona is a level test for a Barça team in low times, both in terms of play and results. The Barça team needs a victory to secure the round of 16 mathematically and first place virtually. But a draw would open many scenarios in the resolution of the group and we would have to wait for the result that Shakhtar Donetsk, which is currently third in the group, achieves against Royal Antwerp,
