On Sunday, Barcelona wants to ensure that they stay at the top of La Liga when they organize Real Sociedad in the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Company in Montjuic. Both teams, which were this midweek in Copa del Rey, are located in the middle of a very busy schedule, and with this the luminaire can be used as an opportunity to rotate players for European matches next week.
La Real will already be without Takefusa Kubo and Nayef Aguerd for the trip to Catalonia, because both players have activated an automatic suspension of one match before the match after picking up yellow cards in last weekend's victory. Moreover, head coach Imanol Alguacil could use the fact that this fixture is one that is expected of them as an opportunity to make further changes.
According to Sport, La Real is considering resting the most important players against Barcelona to ensure that they are 100% for the Europa League round next Thursday of 16 first leg against Manchester United in the Reale Arena.
Martin Zubimendi, who still attracts considerable transfer speculation for the summer transfer window, is one of the players who stand in line to be born against Barcelona, where Imanol is concerned about fatigue with the 26-year-old Pivot. If this happens, his replacement would be Benat Turrientes.
In the meantime, club captain Mikel Oyarzabal can also get a rest at the Estadi Olimpic, given that he is one of the players who entails an increased risk of injury. He will be a definitive starter against Man United, and it would also offer Orri Oskarsson the opportunity to make a rare start in La Liga.
Barcelona would certainly be satisfied if La Real made important changes to Sunday's game, and it might tempt Hansi Flick to make his own adjustments prior to the Champions League showdown next week against Benfica.
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