Barcelona, Nov 8 (IANS) Barcelona have received a timely boost ahead of their La Liga encounter against Atletico Madrid, with defenders Eric Garcia and Andreas Christensen returning to the squad after receiving medical clearance.
The return of the defensive duo comes as Barcelona continue to deal with several injury concerns. Former Atletico Madrid player Rodri, Dani Olmo, Jules Kounde and Xavi Espart are among those unavailable for the contest.
Youngster Ebrima Tunkara has also earned a place in the travelling squad as Barcelona look to maintain their momentum across competitions. Gavi, Fermin Lopez, Frenkie de Jong, Pedri and Marc Bernal are also included in Flick’s selection.
Barcelona head into the encounter on the back of two convincing victories. They registered a 6-1 win over Alaves in La Liga before defeating Aston Villa 3-0 in the Champions League on Tuesday.
However, Atletico Madrid are expected to provide a stern challenge, particularly given their impressive run in the domestic competition. Diego Simeone’s side have won their last seven La Liga matches, including a 2-1 victory over Real Madrid.
Atletico have collected nine wins, one draw and one defeat from their opening 11 league fixtures and boast the division’s best defensive record, having conceded just eight goals.
Their European campaign, though, has been less encouraging, with the Madrid-based club suffering a 2-0 home defeat against Bayern Munich in their latest Champions League outing.
Barcelona, meanwhile, have been particularly prolific in front of goal, scoring 46 times in 11 league matches. Only Athletic Club, with 49 goals in the 1930-31 campaign, had scored more at the same stage of a Spanish league season.
Barcelona squad: Joan Garcia, Wojciech Szczesny, Livakovic, Joao Cancelo, Alejandro Balde, Brian Fariñas, Pau Cubarsi, Gavi, Fermin Lopez, Pedri, Gabriel Jesus, Lamine Yamal, Raphinha, Adeyemi, Andreas Christensen, Gordon, Gerard Martin, Frenkie de Jong, Marc Bernal, Eric Garcia, Abdelkarim, Ebrima Tunkara and Alex Campos.
–IANS
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