Barcelona kick off the return of La Liga play after the March international break taking on Osasuna at home.
A win would see the Catalans open up a three-point lead over Real Madrid in the title race with just 10 games to go in the season. It would also avenge a crushing 4-2 defeat last time these two teams faced in La Liga. Though, this Barcelona side has hit a different level under Hansi Flick since then thanks to stellar play from, possibly, the Ballon d'Or favorite: Raphinha.
Hansi Flick faces an uphill challenge given the amount of players set to miss the game. Marc Casado and Pau Cubarsi are injured while both Raphinha and Ronald Araujo are absent because of a major talking point this season: scheduling.
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Flick announced in his pre-match press conference that both Raphinha and Araujo will be absent. Araujo missing the game affects Barcelona's depth in defense, but Flick is confident in Eric Garcia and Inigo Martinez to get the job done. The Uruguayan defender has missed a majority of the season so far because of a hamstring injury. More time to recover will benefit the Catalans in the long run.
For Raphinha, Barcelona will likely call on Ferran Torres. There is available depth, but it's a bigger void to fill given the Brazilian's form this season. Raphinha has 23 goal contributions in La Liga alone across 27 appearances. He's got another 16 contributions in 10 UEFA Champions League games.
Torres will be in fine form having scored twice off the bench against Atletico Madrid last time out, so Flick will look for the ex-Manchester City man to help with the attacking responsbilities.
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