Barcelona have confirmed their 18-man squad for their clash with Real Valladolid this weekend, and there is no Arthur or Frenkie de Jong available for coach Quique Setien.
After rivals Real Madrid secured a 2-0 win over Alaves on Friday night, they have stretched their lead at the top of the La Liga table to four points with just three games remaining.
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In turn, the Catalan giants can’t afford to slip-up this weekend and give them a chance to extend that lead and all-but seal the league crown and so they will be desperate to secure all three points at Valladolid.
However, they’ll have to do so without some key absentees, with Arthur, Frenkie de Jong, Samuel Umtiti, Ansu Fati and Ousmane Dembele all missing out.
As noted by the club’s official site, Fati is out due to suspension, while the other quartet are all ruled out due to injury with the reigning La Liga champions expanding on Arthur’s absence and noting that the Brazilian international is suffering from tonsillitis and so he’ll play no part.
That’s a fair amount of quality and depth missing for Barcelona and Setien, who will also be concerned given the quick turnaround to the next game as they’ll face Osasuna in midweek. Nevertheless, there is still a lot of class in the squad below, with talisman Lionel Messi undoubtedly set to lead the way yet again.
Meanwhile, although their more immediate focus is on this weekend’s game, they’ll no doubt be keeping a close on Real Madrid’s encounter with Granada on Monday night, as they are now in a position where they will have to rely on their old rivals dropping points to allow them to get back into the title race.
Our squad for #ValladolidBarça! pic.twitter.com/gFFjDasWQ3
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) July 10, 2020