Barcelona go into the start of this season’s Champions League in excellent form. Xavi Hernandez’s side have won four in a row, including a comprehensive 5-0 victory over Real Betis on Saturday evening.
Barcelona host Royal Antwerp at Montjuic in their Champions League opener, which will be the Belgian side’s first ever group stage match in the competition. The Catalans will hope to make it an unhappy occasion for Mark van Bommel’s side.
They go into the match in good spirits, but it could be even better for Barcelona. Ronald Araujo has been unavailable for the last four matches due to a hamstring injury, but he is edging closer to full fitness. Javi Miguel reports that he has a slim chance of being available against Antwerp.
🚨 It's not ruled out that Araújo could be included in the squad for Tuesday's Champions League opener, although the most likely scenario is for him to reappear against Celta Vigo next week. @fansjavimiguel 🇺🇾 pic.twitter.com/P8pj2NcqtB
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) September 17, 2023
However, Barcelona won’t take any risks with Araujo’s recovery. They do not want to aggravate the issue, so it is probably more likely that he is rested, with next weekend’s match against Celta Vigo more of a realistic target.
Barcelona already have Jules Kounde, Andreas Christensen and Inigo Martinez as senior options at centre-back so there is no need to rush Araujo back. This will certainly be in their thinking for the Antwerp match.
