A serious situation has struck FC Barcelona, as the start of their season draws near, with a visit to Valencia CF. The father of Lamine Yamal, who is developing into a major star for both club and country, is no hospitalized. Yamal’s father, Mounir Nasraoui, was stabbed in a parking lot located in a town just outside of Barcelona.
Yamal will obviously tend to his family needs first, but he was at training with the Blaugranes on Thursday. Therefore he is expected to be involved on Saturday.
FC Barcelona at Valencia CF FYIs
La Liga Season Kickoff
Sat. Aug. 17, 9:30pm, Mestalla Stadion, Valencia, Spain
Barca Preview Material: Team News Starting XI Prediction
Google Result Probability: Barca 56% Draw 24% Valencia CF 20%
He could start, as Hansi Flick looks to make a good first impression ni what will be his first competitive match in charge. Plus, the Catalan Club looked brutally awful in the Joan Camper Trophy match. Granted it was a preseason friendly, and Flick went with a weakened side, but the result was still ugly.
They need a pretty one here, so Flick will go with a very strong team. Ferran Torres, Hector Fort, Pau Victor and Pablo Torre could all be left out of the starting lineup versus Valencia CF.
We think Lamine Yamal will be in the first team however.
FC Barcelona Starting XI Prediction at Valencia CF
Marc-Andre Ter Stegen; Jules Kounde, Andreas Christensen, Inigo Martinez, Alejandro Balde; Marc Casado, Ilkay Gundogan; Lamine Yamal, Dani Olmo, Raphinha; Robert Lewandowski
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 Linked In and Twitter.