Barcelona kick off their 2024/25 season on Saturday evening when they face Valencia at Mestalla, and Hansi Flick has named his 22-man squad for the game, which saw a surprise omission of a star.
Barcelona are looking to win tonight’s game in order to regain confidence in their bid to reclaim the La Liga title they lost to Real Madrid last year.
The name absent from Barcelona’s squad for the match is midfielder Ilkay Gundogan, as the German was expected to lead the Blaugrana midfield today.
However, the veteran midfielder suffered a head injury during Monday’s Joan Gamper Trophy match against Monaco, and so was left out of tonight’s squad.
Gundogan’s exclusion is likely to be a precautionary measure for Barcelona, but it will be a significant absence for Flick’s team, who were also unable to call upon Pedri despite receiving the green light from the medical staff, and he may not be fit enough to be in the starting lineup, as Flick confirmed.
Also missing from the list are Mikael Fay and Vitor Roque, the former likely being left out due to his expected departure in the coming days, while Roque will certainly leave and has not been registered on the team’s roster in La Liga.