Injuries have been a massive burden for FC Barcelona this season. Not even at the halfway mark yet, the Catalans have had to struggle with many key absentees. Only recently, even 19-year-old Gavi has fallen to an ACL injury that will potentially cost him and Barcelona the rest of the season together.
Moreover, even Marc Andre Ter Stegen is now unavailable for the upcoming Rayo Vallecano clash. The international break has been mostly doom and gloom for Barça because of this reason. However, there is one positive for Xavi Hernandez heading into the game at the Vallecas.
Both Pedri and Frenkie De Jong are once again available for selection. While the Dutchman is unlikely to start, knowing that he is now available for selection is great news for Barcelona.
As highlighted by Mundo Deportivo, both the Spaniard and his Dutch teammate have quite the record together. Since first featuring together in the 2020/2021 season, the two of them have managed to have quite the impressive win balance for Barcelona.
Across the 73 times that they have featured together, Pedri and De Jong have helped Barcelona win 53 times. Apart from that, 12 draws have been held. This creates a percentage of 89% without losing for Barcelona whenever they play together.
Eight defeats are the other end of the spectrum. Losses to Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, and a few others make up these numbers. Interestingly, one of those defeats was against Rayo Vallecano away from home as well. The duo will be hoping that they can avoid a repeat of that incident in the coming hours.
Both of them were also crucial in helping Barcelona achieve their longest unbeaten streak between April of 2021 and October of 2022. Across that period, Pedri and De Jong also managed to contribute 20 goals that they scored themselves.
