Barcelona have been handed a crucial fitness boost ahead of their trip to the Santiago Bernabeu on Thursday. The Blaugrana face their arch rivals in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final at 21:00 CEST, but will do so without several key attackers.
Robert Lewandowski, Ousmane Dembele and Pedri ahev perhaps contributed more to the Barcelona offence than anyone else this season, but all are absent for El Clasico. However they will have Ansu Fati back.
🚨 The squad for #ElClásico! pic.twitter.com/3uRyYibVS1
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) March 1, 2023
The young forward missed their trip to Almeria on Sunday with bruising to the knee, but trained on Wednesday and has been included in the squad.
“He has trained with the group, it’s a bruise. He feels good, he looks happy to me and motivated. He must be important for the team,” Xavi Hernandez told the press ahead of the game.
With the aforementioned injury issues, it looks as if Xavi will revert to a four-man midfield system with so few options up front. Unless he starts Ansu Fati, the consensus is that he will go with Ferran Torres through the middle and Raphinha on the right side. Youngsters Angel Alarcon and Estanis Pedrola have also been included in the squad.
