Barça face Slavia Prague with Yamal suspended and Ferran sidelined
Flick forced to shuffle his pack for Champions League clash in Prague as Barcelona look to secure qualification with several key players missing.
Barcelona head to the Czech capital with qualification still not secured and several notable absentees from their squad.
Injury and suspension woes
Hansi Flick’s men are back in Champions League action on Wednesday, making the trip to face Slavia Prague in the seventh round of the league phase. The German gaffer’s been forced into some changes with a few proper headaches in the selection department.
While Barça remain competitive, they’re dealing with a growing list of unavailable players:
- Ferran Torres is the latest casualty, picking up a semimembranosus muscle issue in his right leg during the weekend clash at Anoeta. He’ll be out for around ten days.
- Lamine Yamal is suspended after collecting his third yellow card against Eintracht.
- Long-term absentees Gavi and Christensen remain sidelined.
- Ter Stegen has stayed in Barcelona as he finalizes a loan move to Girona.
- João Cancelo, Barça’s winter reinforcement, isn’t registered for this phase of the Champions League.
Meanwhile, Slavia Prague boss Jindrich Trpisovsky has a full squad at his disposal with no confirmed absences.
Points to prove
Barcelona currently sit on 10 points in the league phase table, meaning qualification to the next round isn’t yet in the bag. The situation’s even more dire for Slavia, who’ve managed just three points and find themselves near the bottom of the standings.
Likely line-ups
Slavia Prague (probable): Staněk; Holeš, Zima, Chaloupek, Bořil; Moses, Sadílek; Douděra, Provod, Kušej; Chorý
Barcelona (probable): Joan García; Koundé, Cubarsí, Eric García, Balde; Pedri, De Jong; Fermín, Olmo, Raphinha; Lewandowski
With these changes, particularly between the sticks, it’ll be interesting to see if Barça can do the business in Prague or if they’ll have a right bubble and squeak on their hands.