Barcelona are gearing up for an El Clasico Spanish Supercopa final with Real Madrid without key defender Joao Cancelo.
Xavi Hernandez opted to include the Portugal international in his squad which travelled to Saudi Arabia despite struggling with an injury.
Xavi remained confident of Cancelo being available for the final, after indicating Spain star Pedri will feature against Los Blancos, but Cancelo looks set to miss out.
🚨Barcelona are preparing for their El Clasico Supercopa final with Real Madrid without Joao Cancelo https://t.co/hoiEerYomD
— Football España (@footballespana_) January 12, 2024
As per the latest from Diario Sport reporter Toni Juanmarti, Xavi has admitted defeat in his attempt to bring Cancelo back for the showdown in Riyadh.
With Cancelo set to remain sidelined, Xavi could stick with an unchanged defence from the 2-0 semifinal win over Osasuna, with Pedri set to replace Sergi Roberto in midfield.
Lamine Yamal is expected to remain on the bench, despite scoring a record breaking goal off the bench against Osasuna, but the 16-year-old could become the youngest ever El Clasico scorer if he finds the net in the final.
So much sad for the key player Joan caselo