Barcelona managed to secure victory on Sunday night by vitrue of 17-year-old debutant Marc Guiu, but with El Clasico on the horizon, there will still be concern going into the match that the Blaugrana are short on resources.
Against Athletic Club, Xavi Hernandez was missing Jules Kounde, Sergi Roberto, Robert Lewandowski, Frenkie de Jong, Pedri and Raphinha through injury. While Lamine Yamal and Fermin Lopez have taken on key roles this season, Xavi has just 13 first-team players available to him currently.
After the Athletic game, Xavi told Sport that two of their injured party were not going to make the match in time.
“Kounde. He won’t arrive in time and Sergi Roberto almost certainly won’t either. The rest will depend on their feelings.”
🚨 Iñigo Martínez was one of Barça's best players against Athletic Bilbao. He could very well be a starter against Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday. @mundodeportivo pic.twitter.com/LQnq2iafff
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) October 23, 2023
On Wednesday at 18:45 CEST, Barcelona face Shakhtar Donetsk in a match that they will be hoping to make it through unscathed.
“It is a very important game for us. We have many injuries and let’s see if we recover people this week. Playing at home it is vital for us to win that match.”
🚨 Pedri has many options to have minutes against Shakhtar Donetsk. @sport pic.twitter.com/GoJTgcaP2X
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) October 23, 2023
Barcelona can maintain a lead of at least three at the top of their Champions League group should they beat Shakhtar and keep up their 100% record. If they come away with maximum points from their double-header, Barcelona will make it back to the Champions League knockout stages for the first time in three years.
