FC Barcelona are high on their heels after winning the Champions League match against Shakhtar Donetsk. They are preparing for El Clasico against Real Madrid which they will play on Saturday. Barcelona are hoping that their injured players will be back in the fold.
Sergi Roberto, Pedri, Jules Kounde, Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski and Frenkie de Jong are all injured. The former trio is guaranteed to miss the El Clasico on Saturday. Meanwhile Lewandowski and de Jong continued to train individually just 48 hours to kick off, reported by MD. The positive news for Barcelona coach Xavi is that Raphinha did return to training with the group. This increases his chances of being part of the group to be on the pitch on Saturday.
Frenkie De Jong and Lewandowski are not yet ruled out but are unlikely to play at this point. The return of Raphinha would open things up a little for Xavi Hernandez. Ferran Torres and Joao Felix are all but guaranteed to start on the left and through the middle, leaving one of his front three spots available. Fermin Lopez has shown in performances that he should start, while Lamine Yamal played a full 90 minutes for Barcelona in a UCL match on Wednesday. Starting Yamal again for the important match against Madrid would be a decision for Xavi to make.
With Raphinha recovering, the coach has some options in hand to rotate players during the match. Barcelona were thrashed 4-0 in the previous game against Real Madrid. Let’s see if the Catalans turn things around.
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