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Catalan giants Barcelona are expected to shuffle their pack when they lock horns with Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday night.
Barcelona could be without a couple of big names when they lock horns with Chelsea. The Blues will host Hansi Flick's side at Stamford Bridge in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday night, as they each attempt to secure automatic qualification to the knock-out stages.
According to Spanish outlet Diario AS, Pedri will be unavailable for the highly anticipated clash. The 22-year-old midfielder was absent from training at Ciutat Esportiva on Sunday morning as he continues to recover from a muscle problem.
Pedri suffered a hamstring problem during El Clásico last month and, despite showing 'positive signs', he's not expected to return to action until next weekend at the very earliest. The Spain international had started each of Barcelona's opening 10 games in La Liga this season, scoring two goals and providing one assist.
He had also played an integral role in the Catalan outfit's Champions League campaign before picking up a knock. Barcelona will also be without Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Gavi for the trip to west London due to injury.
Fortunately for Flick, he's expected to welcome Marcus Rashford back to the matchday squad. The Manchester United loanee, who swapped Old Trafford for the Camp Nou this summer, missed the Spanish champions' 4-0 win over Athletic Bilbao on Saturday evening due to illness.
An official statement from the club claimed Rashford had the flu. The England international returned to training at Ciutat Esportiva on Sunday, which comes as a huge boost for Barcelona.
Joan Garcia and Raphinha made their long-awaited returns for the Catalan side at the weekend following lengthy spells on the sidelines. Meanwhile, Frenkie de Jong, who missed Saturday's clash due to suspension, will be thrown back into the starting line-up on Tuesday, according to Diario AS.
Barcelona may fancy their chances, but Enzo Maresca's side are on cloud nine. Speaking to reporters at Turf Moor following a comfortable 2-0 win over Burnley, the Chelsea boss said: "Yeah, we are confident.
"We are confident, we are doing well. Today we could have done many, many things better, for sure - no doubt - but at the end it was important to win the game. But we are confident and we are ready to prepare Tuesday and Sunday."
Maresca had the luxury of making a few changes in preparation for the clash against Barcelona, one of which being Reece James, who was brought off at half-time. The Blues boss said: "Yes, the idea was especially to manage Reece [James], this is the reason why he played 45 minutes, was planned.
"Then the rest, Pedro [Neto] and Enzo [Fernandez], they had a good international break in terms of recovery energy and recovery also from the injury. The rest I think they were all good."
When pressed on James, Maresca added: "We planned on 45 minutes. That's why I said we had many reasons to be happy today, because one of the reasons was also to try to manage players.
"It's not easy, because me personally, I would like Reece to continue - but we need to protect Reece."
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