Five Valencia players miss the trip to Barcelona through injury

Matchday 33 of La Liga sees Barcelona take on Valencia at Montjuic. Having lost El Clasico last time out, the Catalans no longer have any title hopes but will look to keep their good run of form going.

For Valencia, however, the game and its result mean far more. Currently, in eighth place on the league standings, they are one win away from being placed in the European qualification slots.

Heading into the clash, Xavi has a nearly fully fit squad at his disposal barring the recently injured Frenkie de Jong and the long-term absences of Gavi and Alejandro Balde. The news from Mestalla, however, is not as sweet.

Five absences

As revealed on the official X page of Ruben Baraja’s side, Los Che are missing five vital members of their squad travelling to Catalonia.

Jose Luis Gaya, Roman Yaremchuk, Mouctar Diakhaby, Dimitri Foulquier and Fran Perez are all not travelling with the team for Monday night’s clash, some with acute and others through long-term injuries.

Jose Gaya out for Valencia. (Photo by Aitor Alcalde/Getty Images)

Gaya has been out of action since the team’s 1-0 defeat to Villarreal last month after he sustained an injury to his quadriceps.

Yaremchuk, the team’s main striker meanwhile, has been out of action for a month as well through a muscle injury he sustained against Mallorca.

Foulquier and Perez, meanwhile, played in the team’s last game against Real Betis but were substituted out in the second half.

The final player missing on the travel, Diakhaby, faced a potentially career-ending injury during the team’s clash against Real Madrid and will not feature again this season.

While it is indeed positive news for Barcelona that the visitors will be without some crucial players, it is critical that they do not let their guard down on the night.

With it being the first game since the announcement of Xavi’s continuity, the goal will be to retain the momentum and reclaim the second place on the league standings from Girona.