Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez has confirmed that Andreas Christensen and Joao Cancelo have returned from injury and trained with the first-team squad ahead of their clash with Athletic Club. Barcelona will travel to San Mames to face Los Leones in the Copa del Rey quarter-finals, with kick off scheduled for 21:30 CEST on Wednesday.
Cancelo is expected to return to action against Athletic, after picking up a knee problem against Las Palmas at the start of the year. Christensen came off during their previous Copa del Rey clash with Unionistas de Salamanca at half-time, but has recovered from an abdominal problem after missing Barcelona’s 4-2 win over Real Betis.
🚨 OFFICIAL: The squad! @FCBarcelona pic.twitter.com/oHRde0OO2j
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) January 23, 2024
Youngsters Pau Cubarsi, Hector Fort, Marc Guiu and Aron Yaakobishvili have all been called up for the match too though.
Ahead of the game, Xavi warned his side not to expect to dominate proceedings with comfort.
“We are playing for a title, heads or tails, against a rival that we didn’t want. At San Mames, with their fans. They are one of the most in-form teams in the league, even if they lost in Valencia. They do things very well and they put a lot of pressure on you. It is a very complicated task, but we are prepared. We are getting back to feeling good and playing well. It is a great game and I hope it will be a great show. We are three games away from the Cup final.”
“Ernesto is one of the best coaches on the Spanish scene. They have a very high defensive line and we will have to play out of the pressure. It will be very different from the Betis game.”
In particular, Xavi was asked about Nico Williams, who Barcelona were linked with before he penned a new deal in Bilbao.
“Nico seems like an exceptional player to me. Good on both the right and left wing, he can go one against one, he is fast and has goals in him. This year he has exploded in his goal-scoring role. He is a footballer who can make a difference and will be difficult to stop when he has space to run into. He is a great player.”
