Official: Barcelona squad list vs Espanyol announced

Today is a special game for multiple reasons. Not only does Espanyol return to the top flight to resume regular derby service, but today also marks the return of several players from injury, including Gerard Pique, Sergi Roberto, Eric Garcia, and Nico.

But most of all, though, it is Xavi day!

Barcelona legend Xavi will manage his first game as the team’s head coach, hopefully marking the advent of a new era. As such, he’s chosen his list of 23 for the derby.

Ousmane Dembele, unsurprisingly, is still out from an injury and is likely to return in a fortnight. Meanwhile, Ronald Araujo continues in the list despite a rocky month.

Ansu Fati is not included, either. He picked up a knock against Celta Vigo, and his recovery will determine his return.

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— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) November 20, 2021

Martin Braithwaite could not recover in time for Xavi’s debut and misses out. His place in the attacking arsenal is filled by Ez Abde and Ilias Akhomach Chakkour.

Samuel Umtiti is reported to have left quite a mark on the Spaniard and is named in the squad list with a new hope.

Complete list: ter Stegen, Neto, Pena; Roberto, Mingueza, Pique, Araujo, Eric, Lenglet, Umtiti, Alba, Balde; Busquets, de Jong, Gavi, Nico, Puig, Coutinho; Memphis, Demir, Abde, Akhomach