Barcelona are hoping to return to winning ways when they host struggling Girona at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys. The reigning La Liga champions have lost their last two matches in all competitions (vs Paris Saint-Germain and Sevilla), so there will be a strong desire to bounce back in this Catalan derby.
Barcelona come into this one on the back of a disappointing international break, in that the likes of Dani Olmo, Ferran Torres and Robert Lewandowski picked up injuries. However, they do have Lamine Yamal and Fermin Lopez available, with both players having recovered from their respective issues.
However, Sport say that Hansi Flick will opt not to start with either player, as he will opt to ease them in before El Clasico next weekend. That would mean that Dro Fernandez and Roony Bardghji would start at attacking midfield and right wing instead, while Marcus Rashford is almost certainly to be the striker.
Alejandro Balde is poised to make his return to the line-up, albeit at left wing as cover for the aforementioned injuries. Elsewhere, Eric Garcia is to start in place of Ronald Araujo, who had a disappointing afternoon at Sevilla last time out.
As for Girona, they are without suspended duo Alejandro Frances and Ivan Martin, which will mean a start in midfield for Jhon Solis. Bryan Gil and Joel Roca are also expected to return to the line-up, with Portu and Yaser Asprilla dropping to the bench.
Barcelona need a victory to get back on track
Girona got their first win of the season last time out, but they are clear underdogs in this one. Barcelona will fancy their chances of a win even without a number of important players, although they cannot take anything for granted in Montjuic.
