The success of an international window is often defined by the length of the injury list once those on duty return, and, by that metric, Barcelona didn’t have the greatest of September breaks.
The start of their La Liga title defense has been pretty chaotic, and they’ve lost early ground to Real Madrid at the summit. Hansi Flick’s side may already be feeling a little bit of pressure when they host Valencia on Sunday night, given that Madrid maintained their 100% start to the new season by beating Real Sociedad 2–1.
Their task of passing by a resurgent Carlos Corberán-led outfit has been made trickier by their list of notable absentees. Flick is without midfielders Gavi and Pedri, but can at least count upon Pedri, Marc Casadó and Marc Bernal, who’s set to make his return to the matchday squad after more than a year out.
The champions are well set on the mitigation front in Flick’s midfield pivot, but question marks reside over the huge and unfamiliar void down the right flank. The German has leaned on Lamine Yamal relentlessly since taking on the role, but Barça’s generationally gifted teenager will be sitting out this weekend.
