Injury problems continue to pile up for FC Barcelona as the Catalans lost two more players in the last few days. The first was Alejandro Balde who got injured after a few minutes in the match against Athletic Club, while Sergi Roberto also suffered a discomfort in the recovery session after that game.
As a result, the Blaugranes’ backline is very thinly spread, with other players like Inigo Martinez, and Marcos Alonso also unavailable. However, there is also some good news for Barcelona fans in this regard, as Joao Cancelo has recovered from his injury.
In fact, Mundo Deportivo claims that the Portuguese is expected to be the starter on the left flank in the upcoming game against Villarreal. As already mentioned, the starting Barcelona left-back, Alejandro Balde is injured, and Cancelo will be the favorite to take this flank in upcoming games.
Cancelo had also made the squad for the Copa del Rey game against Athletic Club and has completely recovered from the strain in his internal lateral ligament of the left knee.
In addition to Cancelo, Xavi will also have the option of playing Hector Fort on this flank. The youngster impressed in his last outing in the Copa del Rey game, even though Barcelona were defeated in that match.
Other than Cancelo, there are not expected to be a lot of changes in the Barcelona lineup for the upcoming game. Inaki Pena will start between the sticks, Gundogan, Pedri, and Frenkie will make up the midfield, and Lamine Yamal, Lewandowski, and Felix will make up the attacking trio. Ferran Torres is expected to be given a rest for this match.
