Skip to main content

Andres Iniesta and Gerard Pique to Miss Barcelona Champions League Match against Olympiakos

Andres Iniesta will miss the Champions League trip to Olympiakos on Tuesday night with the Barcelona captain remaining on the sidelines alongside Arda Turan, Aleix Vidal, Ousmane Dembele and Rafinha Alcantara. Gerard Pique is also out due to suspension but Thomas Vermaelen and Javier Mascherano have returned to Ernesto Valverde's 20-man travelling squad after both centre-backs missed the 2-0 victory at Athletic Bilbao on Saturday [28 October] due to injury and illness.

Furthermore, the Barcelona boss has also promoted goalkeeper Adrian Ortola and 19-year-old midfielder Carles Aleña from the second team to complete his squad.

"For this match, the Barça coach will not be able to count on the suspended Gerard Piqué or the injured Ousmane Dembélé, Rafinha, Aleix Vidal, Arda and Iniesta" the Catalans confirmed in the club official website.

"However, Vermaelen's medical discharge has been received and Mascherano (without medical discharge) travels, as do two players from Barça B, Ortolá and Aleñá."

Iniesta missed the weekend victory over Athletic where goals from Lionel Messi and Paulinho gave Barcelona all three points to remain at the top of La Liga table, four points ahead of Valencia eight over Real Madrid, who lost at Girona.

The captain suffered an injury to his left thigh before the game and it is still uncertain whether he will recover in time for the crucial visit of Sevilla on Saturday (4 November).

Meanwhile, the return of Vermaelen and Mascherano will be especially welcomed by Valverde in the absence of Pique after red card during the 3-1 victory over Olympiakos at the Nou Camp in the first group game played between the sides on 18 October.

Barcelona, who have won their previous three games in the Champions League, will progress to the last 16 if the beat the Greek side and Sporting Lisbon fail to beat Juventus in the other clash in Group D. They will also qualify if they draw and Juve win in the Portuguese capital.

Valverde is expected to make some changes in his line-up at the Karaiskakis Stadium ahead of the clash with Sevilla.

Source - IBTimes
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Juventus Manager Allegri Signs Contract Extension Untill 2020

Massimiliano Allegri has signed a new contract with Juventus, keeping him with the Serie A side until 2020, the Turin outfit have confirmed. The 49-year-old will remain at Juventus Stadium for another three seasons, having guided the Old Lady to a third successive domestic double. Allegri helped Juve win the Serie A and Copa Italia titles this season, and guided them to the Champions League final. Since taking over at Juventus Stadium in 2014, he has won the domestic double each season and has a 69 per cent winning rate. The former midfielder had been linked with a move to Arsenal before Arsene Wenger agreed a new two-year deal, but will now remain in Turin until the end of the 2019-20 season. In a statement, Juventus said: "Juventus is pleased to announce that Massimiliano Allegri has signed a contract renewal at the club until 2020. "Today's agreement extends a working relationship that has seen the Bianconeri consolidate their position as Italy's...
Post a Comment
Read more

Zlatan Ibrahimovic Could Make Man United Return this Year, Says Jose Mourinho

Jose Mourinho is confident Zlatan Ibrahimovic will be available for Manchester United before the end of the year. The Swedish striker - who has been regularly updating his Instagram followers of his rehabilitation from a knee injury - has this week begun doing some very light ball work with the club's coaching staff at Carrington. Ibrahimovic signed a new one-year deal at United on August 24 after the first serious injury of his career cut short a stellar first season at Old Trafford earlier this year. The player's doctor Freddie Fu has warned against rushing his return and United boss Jose Mourinho had previously suggested he will not play for the club in January but has reassessed that prediction. "(Paul) Pogba is not here I don't know when he will be back," he said. "Zlatan is working under our control here as I would expect. He is working so, so hard but he won't be back in the next week or the next couple of weeks. "He nee...
Post a Comment
Read more

Barcelona Summer Signing Ousmane Dembele Suffers Fresh Injury Blow

Barcelona star Ousmane Dembele is set to be on the sidelines for around "three to four weeks" after suffering a fresh hamstring injury during the Catalan's 4-2 victory over Real Sociedad on Sunday. The 20-year-old winger moved to the Nou Camp from Borussia Dortmund during the summer transfer window in deal worth £93.4m  plus €40m in add-ons. The Frenchman spent more than three months on the sidelines as a result before returning to action during Barcelona's 1-1 draw with Celta Vigo in La Liga on 4 January.Earlier on September Dembele was indeed forced to undergo a surgery after rupturing the "tendon in his femoral bicep in his left thigh" during a clash with Getafe when he was only making his third appearance for the club. Dembele has since made three more appearances, playing 25 minutes during the win over Real Sociedad after replacing Paulinho in the second half. But the Frenchman will miss the upcoming games after Barcelona revealed that th...
Post a Comment
Read more