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Barcelona concerned as only 14 players available for the Napoli clash

By Nishant Narayanan

IBIZA, SPAIN - JANUARY 22: (EDITORS NOTE: This image has been converted to black and white) Quique Setien, Manager of FC Barcelona looks on prior to the Copa del Rey Round of 32 match between UD Ibiza and FC Barcelona at Estadi Municipal de Can Misses on January 22, 2020 in Ibiza, Spain. (Photo by Quality Sport Images/Getty Images)
IBIZA, SPAIN - JANUARY 22: (EDITORS NOTE: This image has been converted to black and white) Quique Setien, Manager of FC Barcelona looks on prior to the Copa del Rey Round of 32 match between UD Ibiza and FC Barcelona at Estadi Municipal de Can Misses on January 22, 2020 in Ibiza, Spain. (Photo by Quality Sport Images/Getty Images) /
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Barcelona worried as injuries hinder their Champions League chances.

Quique Setien has been at Camp Nou for merely 7 months and has been haunted by innumerable injuries that has led to various substitutions and an over-reliance on the youth squad. After recently missing out on the La Liga title, and losing to rivals, Real Madrid, the Champions League is the only chance Barcelona have to win a trophy this season.

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The matches since the restart revealed various problems with the team, with inconsistency being one of the major issues followed by various injuries of players including striker, Luis Suarez, and midfielder, Frenkie de Jong.

The critical second-leg of the Round of 16, was already a tough deal against Napoli and things just got worse for the Catalans with the injuries that have left the squad with very few senior members. Additionally, critical players like Sergio Busquets and Arturo Vidal are out due to suspensions.

Meanwhile, Arthur Melo has stubbornly refused to play for the Champions League clash due to his conflict with the Board after his transfer to Juventus was finalized. Which leaves only a handful of 13 senior players for Setien to pick from.

The 2 goalkeepers Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Neto will both be on the list. A total of just 5 defenders for 4 spots, namely, Gerard Pique, Nelson Semedo, Jordi Alba, Clement Lenglet, and Junior Firpo. With Firpo’s lackluster performance, he has already found himself on the transferable list and it remains to be seen whether he can redeem himself on the 8th of August.

The 2 youth players the 61-year-old Coach has constantly relied on during this campaign, Riqui Puig and Ansu Fati, have both found themselves on the first team list, taking the total up to 16 players. The 3 midfielder spaces will have 4 players including Puig, de Jong, Sergi Roberto, and Ivan Rakitic, whose performance has faded with his age.

Meanwhile for the 3 forwards’ slots, the club captain, Lionel Messi, will be accompanied by Luis Suarez, Antoine Griezmann, and young Fati. With Ousmane Dembele back in training, the hope is to have him feature in the remaining of the fixtures as the Frenchman continues to recover.

To fill up the rest of the gaps, a lot of the youth academy stars are also training with the senior members. Young Inaki Pena will be goalkeeper number 3, while Ronald Araujo, Jorge Cuenca, and Oscar Mingueza will be the star center-backs, accompanied by Dani Morer and Monchu as the fullback and midfielder respectively. Other youngsters training include Ludovit reis, Konrad de la Fuente, Arnau Tenas and Ludovit Reis. It remains to be seen how many younglings actually take part in the clash against Napoli.

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