Barcelona €65 million-rated star set to return to the starting XI vs Atletico Madrid | OneFootball

FC Barcelona square off against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday night in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals.

It will be the fifth time that the two teams face each other in the ongoing season, with the Catalans winning three of the previous four encounters (L1).

Leading up to the match, Hansi Flick has some notable absences as Raphinha, Frenkie de Jong, Marc Bernal, and Andreas Christensen are all unavailable.

So, the manager has some major selection decisions to make, in particular with two positions – centre-forward, where he has to choose from three players, and right-back.

Jules Kounde expected to start

According to AS, though, Jules Kounde is expected to start at right-back for Barcelona in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals against Atletico Madrid.

The French international was injured over a month ago against Atleti in the second leg of the Copa del Rey semi-finals.

Kounde set to start vs Atletico. (Photo by Aitor Alcalde/Getty Images)

Kounde made his comeback on Saturday, having spent a month out on the sidelines, in the La Liga clash against Los Rojiblancos at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano. He played the final half hour of the match and showcased a good level.

At the start of that match, Flick had deployed Ronald Araujo at right-back, but the Uruguayan suffered an overload in the biceps of his right leg and asked to be substituted.

This situation led to Eric Garcia playing as a full-back until Bernal left the pitch with an ankle sprain in the second half. It was then that Flick brought on Kounde, his regular right-back.

Now, even though Araujo is fit and available, and Joao Cancelo is also an option for the position, it is expected that Kounde will get the nod at right-back on Wednesday.

*Player valuation in title obtained from transfermarkt.com on date of publication.