MADRID, March 25 (Xinhua) -- The Spanish national team returns to play in Barcelona for the first time in 18 years when they play Albania in a friendly match on Saturday night.
Spain plays in Espanyol's stadium to the south of the city in a match to help them prepare for the forthcoming World Cup finals, which kick off in November in Qatar.
The last time Spain had played in the city in the Catalan region was in February 2004, when they faced Peru in another friendly in the Olympic Stadium in Montjuic.
It is hard to predict Luis Enrique's starting 11 for Saturday night, but given that he decided to leave the experienced David de Gea and Sergio Busquets out of his 23-man squad, it is likely that he will experiment in order to try and give some players a chance to stake a claim for a place in the World Cup squad.
Although Unai Simon has cemented his place as first-choice goalkeeper, at least one of Dani Raba and Robert Sanchez, both of whom play in England, will probably get some game time, while Barca youngsters Pedri and Gavi will also start in midfield.
Busquets' absence should also give Manchester City's Rodrigo Hernandez the chance to shine in the central midfield holding role.
One player who misses out is Espanyol forward, Raul de Tomas, the top-scoring Spaniard in La Liga has been forced out of the squad with a training injury and won't be able to play in his home ground.
Turning possession into clear chances and goals is perhaps the Achilles heel of Enrique's side and he will be looking for players such as Dani Olmo, Ferran Torres, Alvaro Morata, and Villareal youngster Yeremi Pino to shine.
Torres has been in excellent form for Barcelona since joining from Manchester City in January and his mobility is a factor in the game.
The Spanish play a second friendly against Iceland in La Coruna on Tuesday and it would be no surprise if Saturday's starting 11 is very different to the team that steps out four days later. ■
