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8 months ago
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As Barcelona prepare to resume their La Liga campaign after the international break, they take on UD Las Palmas on Saturday night at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys.
With the two-week international hiatus now done with, manager Xavi Hernandez is able to call upon all his players for the training session today, along with a few youngsters from the reserve and youth ranks.
However, as per Mundo Deportivo, two key players are unlikely to be ready for Saturday’s game against Las Palmas.
Araujo, Christensen likely to miss the game
Indeed, as per the report, key defensive duo Ronald Araujo and Andreas Christensen are likely to be available to face Las Palmas this weekend.
Araujo returned to Barcelona from Uruguay’s camp earlier than anticipated, allegedly due to some physical discomfort.
As for Christensen, the Dane never travelled to play for Denmark during the international break as he was forced to withdraw from the squad due to a minor issue he suffered before the Atletico Madrid game.
Christensen could miss Las Palmas clash. (Photo by ANDER GILLENEA/AFP via Getty Images)Neither issues are serious, but both Araujo and Christensen did not train with the group on Wednesday and are not participating today either.
As such, there is a strong chance that the pair does not feature against Las Palmas on Saturday, with their return directly taking place for the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals first leg against PSG on April 10.
Faye, Mbacke to replace the pair?
As per the report, Xavi has also called upon Barça Atletic’s defensive duo Mamadou Mbacke Fall and Mika Faye to train with the first-team squad today.
Faye is coming on the back of a morale-boosting debut for the Senegalese national team in which he even scored a wonder goal. Meanwhile, Mbacke has impressed enough to be called up to train with the seniors on a semi-regular basis.
And, the African defensive duo might have a great opportunity to make it to the matchday squad for the Las Palmas encounter.
