Josep Guardiola has picked 18 players for the game on Sunday evening in Gijón. The list includes captain Carles Puyol, who is back working with the squad and Barça B’s Isaac Cuenca, but Cesc is out through injury.
18 players will travel to Gijón on Sunday for a tricky match against Sporting, where Barcelona only
drew last season (1-1). Seventeen members of the first team travel, following the injury to Cesc
Fàbregas today Carles Puyol is also in the side after recovering from a rib injury sustained
against Borisov midweek, plus Isaac Cuenca, of Barça B.
Four absentees
The injured Afellay, Alexis and Cesc are all put through injury, and although Andrés Iniesta
did join today’s training session, he is also left behind.
The players will travel to Asturias on Sunday at midday, arriving in Gijón around 11.45,
eight hours before kickoff.
Special
visit
There was a former Barça man watching today’s session, Jeffren Suárez who is
currently on the books of Sporting Lisbon. He greeted the players who were his team mates until
just a few months ago and spoke to several of them at length.