As a result of yellow card accumulation, FC Barcelona defenders Andreas Christensen and Sergi Roberto are suspended for Tuesday night’s UEFA Champions League quarterfinal clash second leg with Paris Saint-Germain.
Meanwhile Oriol Romeu and Ilkay Gundogan are at risk of hitting that threshold as well. Both are one booking away from getting suspended themselves.
FC Barcelona vs PSG FYIs
Kickoff: Tue. April 16, 3pm EST, Olympic Stadium, Barcelona, Spain
Competition: UCL Quarterfinal Leg 2/2
Aggregate: Barca leads 3-2
FC Barcelona Preview Material: Starting XI Prediction Team News
90 Minute Result Probability: PSG 32% Draw 24% FC Barcelona 44%
FC Barcelona Team News
Other than that (Christensen being the main concern), Barcelona boss Xavi has very little to worry about, from a selection standpoint, here. Gavi and Alejandro Balde obviously remain done for the season with anterior cruciate ligament injuries. The Blaugranes will head into the second leg with the advantages of being up on aggregate and coming home to the Olympic Stadium.
Xavi was able to rotate his side in the La Liga win over Cadiz yesterday, and that will be very beneficial heading into the midweek continental competition with PSG.
Having rested some of the regulars on the weekend, Xavi can rotate them back in the mix on Tuesday night.
We’ll cover that in the next post.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to Ravens Wire, part of the USA Today SMG’s NFL Wire Network and the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and the Washington Times. You can follow him on Twitter.