Barcelona, Spain – Barcelona are preparing to face Aston Villa of England on Tuesday evening, in the fourth round of the league stage of the 2026-2027 Champions League, amid several absences that are hitting the Catalan team’s ranks, and present German coach Hansi Flick with challenges in choosing the starting lineup.
Barcelona will host Aston Villa in a match where the Spanish team will seek to achieve a positive result, despite the numerical shortage in its ranks, especially in the back line, due to injuries that have kept a number of its players from participating in recent matches.
Ronnie Bardji remains sidelined with a long-term injury, while Andreas Christensen did not participate in the team’s training session on Monday to continue recovering from his muscle injury.
Eric Garcia, Jules Koundé, Xavi Espart and Dani Olmo are also absent, which makes Flick’s task of preparing the right options even more difficult, especially at the defensive level.
Due to limited defensive options, the Barcelona coach was forced to use midfielder Frenkie de Jong in the center-back position during the last match against Alaves in the Spanish League.
Goalkeeper: Juan Garcia.
Defense: Farinhas, Pau Coparsi, Gerard Martin, Joao Cancelo.
Midfield: Pedri, Rodri, Firmin Lopez.
Attack: Lamine Yamal, Anthony Gordon, Rafinha.