Barcelona have received some good and bad news ahead of Wednesday night’s Copa del Rey game against Linares Deportivo. Xavi cannot rely on Clément Lenglet and Samuel Umtiti, because both players suffer from stomach problems. On the other hand, the presence of Dani Alves and Ousmane Dembélé in the 21-man selection. The Brazilian right back has now been registered with the Spanish Football Association and, like Dembélé, has recovered from his previous corona infection.
Alves and Dembele are the most important new names in the match selection of Barcelona, which will take on Linares in the cup on Wednesday evening at 19:30. Due to the large number of absentees, there is a good chance that the 38-year-old right back will start in the base. The Catalans report that Xavi will in any case not be able to use Lenglet and Umtiti, because the French center defenders are struggling with stomach problems.
SQUAD LIST #LinaresBarça@DaniAlvesD2 included on the list although he is awaiting confirmation of his registration pic.twitter.com/jbZmTn46Wu
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) January 5, 2022
In total, Barcelona will have to face Linares without fourteen players. In addition to the absent Umtiti and Lenglet, Memphis Depay, Pedri, Ansu Fati, Martin Braithwaite and Sergi Roberto are injured. Ferran Torres has not yet been registered and tested positive for the coronavirus. Alex Balde, Gavi, Sergiño Dest, Philippe Coutinho and Ez Abde are also missing because of corona and Luuk de Jong has also been suspended. Just like against Real Mallorca (0-1 win), Xavi had to supplement his selection with youth players. The trainer only has twelve players from the A-selection at his disposal and for that reason has brought nine players from Barcelona B to the selection.
Jutglà, Álvaro Sanz, Arnau Comas, Mika Mármol, Guillem Jaime, Lucas de Vega, Ilias Akhomach and Estanis Pedrola are all part of the match squad for the cup match. In the run-up to the duel with Mallorca, Xavi already expressed his dissatisfaction with the state of affairs. At the time, the coach spoke of ‘competition distortion’ due to the large number of absentees at Barcelona. “You have to act with common sense, this is the reality, but it is a chaotic situation. We are in an extreme situation. Now is the time to postpone a match because this is competition distortion. I do not get it.”