The eve of the clash against Paris Saint-Germain draws ever nearer for FC Barcelona. La Blaugrana are aware of the difficulties of the encounter, but are more than willing to take them on. At the moment, Barcelona must first prioritize the availability of their best players.
With just four days to go to the encounter between Barcelona and PSG, both teams are in a hurry to finalize their squads. This is because depth could prove to be crucial in this game, and perhaps the confidence a team like Barcelona can gain upon the return of their star players could make or break their matchup.
That is why, as highlighted by Mundo Deportivo, Xavi has a special plan for his team and his injured soldiers, in particular. Today, the Catalan giants are expected to play a friendly game in training that will decide the health and fitness of every player on the team to decide whether or not they are at the optimum level to compete against former Barcelona coach Luis Enrique’s newly reformed PSG.
This game will directly test the current levels of fitness of three stars for Barcelona. Spanish midfielder Pedri, Dutch maestro Frenkie De Jong, and Danish defender Andreas Christensen will be the main names to keep an eye out on.
Their performance and level of consistency in this specific game could end up dictating just how likely they are to feature against PSG over in Paris for the first leg of their quarterfinal encounter. While their presence in the second leg is already taken for granted, their availability in the first leg could also prove to be important.
As per MD, the recoveries of both midfielders are going as per schedule. Due to this, there is a lot of confidence in their progression and with the way that they have ended up recovering. However, caution is still of the essence.
Their group training sessions with their teammates have been scarce, if any. Ultimately, that is why the practice match holds a lot of weight in terms of the final squad list that will eventually travel to Paris.
For Xavi Hernandez, ensuring his Barcelona side is at full strength to take on their biggest challenge of the season is a massive objective as it stands.
