20-year-old Barcelona starlet will be unavailable for Real Betis clash – report

Having conquered La Liga last season, it is clear that Barcelona are aiming for bigger accolades this time around. The UEFA Champions League, it appears, is the big target for Xavi Hernandez and Co.

The Blaugranas begin their European campaign next week against Royal Antwerp at the Estadio Olimpic de Lluis Companys. Ahead of the big UCL curtain-raiser, Xavi Hernandez is looking to rotate his squad for the weekend’s game against Real Betis.

An untimely blow to the manager’s plans

According to reports from SPORT, La Masia sensation Fermin Lopez will not be available to play against Los Verdiblancos at the weekend.

His exclusion comes as a result of the red card he received in a game for Barça Atletic a few days ago.

Despite his suspension at the subsidiary level, Xavi hoped to have Lopez’s services for the first team as it is a different division to that where he saw a red card.

Barcelona requested clarity over the ambiguous rules over a youth player’s suspension, and have now received confirmation that they cannot field the midfielder.

A worrying midfield?

Barcelona are already without the services of star midfielder Pedri Gonzalez through injury and will not have his services for close to a month.

To aggravate the situation, Ilkay Gundogan walked off the field in tears in Germany’s recent game and is expected to be out of action too.

With the team’s two most creative outlets unavailable, Xavi is under pressure to find solutions. Fermin Lopez’s suspension thus does not help the manager’s case.

One can expect Gavi, Frenkie de Jong and Oriol Romeu to start in the middle of the park against Real Betis with Joao Felix taking the spot on the left wing.

However, Xavi also has the option of sticking with his four-man midfield setup by using Sergi Roberto.