Three Barcelona players could miss Real Madrid clash if booked against Valladolid | OneFootball

FC Barcelona played out a grueling 3-3 draw against Inter Milan in the Champions League semi-final first leg, and at the end of it, the team seemed to be extremely tired. With the second leg hardly a week away, Hansi Flick’s men do not have enough time to recover.

It doesn’t help that they also have a weekend La Liga fixture scheduled against Real Valladolid, and the Catalan club needs to find a way to keep the important players fresh for the Inter game. This could mean rotations galore, and that is what is expected.

One more thing for Hansi Flick to consider when he names his team for the Valladolid game, as per SPORT, is the fact that several Barcelona players are one yellow card away from a one-match suspension that would see them miss a potential title-deciding El Clasico.

Hansi Flick’s conundrum

Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick. (Photo by Fran Santiago/Getty Images)

These players include Jules Kounde, Inigo Martinez, Raphinha, and Gavi. Three out of the four players on the list are first names on the team sheet, with Gavi being the only one who has been in and out of the starting XI thus far.

Flick doesn’t need to be worried about Kounde, who is, anyway, set to miss out on the Clasico through injury, but he needs to make a call on the other three names. Raphinha and Inigo can be completely excluded from the Valladolid clash, considering the Inter game midweek.

Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images

Gavi Dilemma

Gavi, however, is the tricky one. He is likely to be one of the players who start the Valladolid game, considering the fact that he is not in line for such a role against Inter Milan. However, if he does pick up a yellow card, Barcelona won’t have his services for the Clasico.

Flick will have to tell Gavi to be extremely disciplined against Valladolid to ensure he comes out of the game without a card, but the chances of that happening are quite minimal considering how the Spaniard likes to play.

It remains to be seen how Flick factors in these suspensions into his decision-making for the starting XI against Inter Milan, and only time will tell how the cookie crumbles in this regard.