Alba returns but Barca dealt hammer blow as Pedri ruled out of Atletico clash

Barcelona have this afternoon announced the club’s squad to take on Atletico Madrid, with one key performer nowhere to be seen.

Ronald Koeman’s men are set to turn their attentions back towards matters on the domestic front this weekend.

After slipping to a 2nd-straight 3-0 defeat in the Champions League’s group stages on Wednesday night, this time, alarmingly, at the hands of Benfica, the Blaugrana must now dust themselves down for a crucial La Liga outing on Saturday night.

The fixture in question will see Barca make the trip to the Spanish capital, eyeing a bounce-back victory against champions Atletico Madrid.

Diego Simeone’s side currently sit 4th in the Spanish top-flight, three points adrift of table-topping Real, and no doubt brimming with confidence on the back of a comeback victory over AC Milan during the week.

Nevertheless, should Barcelona spring a surprise and get the better of Atleti in a little over 24 hours’ time, Koeman’s men, surprisingly, would actually climb above their upcoming hosts in the La Liga table.

The hosts of Koeman and co. of doing precisely that, however, have this afternoon been dealt something of a blow.

This comes with the club’s squad list for Saturday’s clash having been unveiled across social media a short time ago.

One piece of positive news is forthcoming in the form of Jordi Alba’s return, though it remains to be seen whether the stopper is fit enough to feature from the off, after several weeks out of action.

On the flip-side, though, nowhere to be seen in the Barca travelling squad is key midfielder Pedri:

The Blaugrana have since confirmed that their up-and-coming starlet, who marked his return to action versus Benfica on Wednesday, has been ruled out of this weekend’s proceedings with a left thigh injury.