At A Glance
- FC Barcelona defenders Jules Kounde and Alejandro Balde have received the medical green light.
- The Catalans face Atlético Madrid at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano tonight and will have the defenders available at their disposal.
- In their places, however, Joao Cancelo and Eric Garcia are expected to start.
FC Barcelona started off their day with good news, as defenders Jules Kounde and Alejandro Balde received the medical green light to participate in tonight’s match against Atlético Madrid at the Metropolitano.
The full backs were both sidelined by left hamstring knocks in the same match in early March, which was another meeting with Atleti at the Spotify Camp Nou.
Barca beat Diego Simeone’s men 3-0 in the Copa del Rey semfinal second leg. Yet losing 4-0 in the first instalment of the tie away meant a remontada attempt was close but no cigar while two key players were lost for a month.
Their availability is a huge boost for head coach Hansi Flick, as he has all his defenders at his disposal now except for long-term absentee Andreas Christensen.
Decision Time for Barcelona coach Hansi Flick
With Balde fit to take part for FC Barcelona again, it remains to be seen how Flick plans to integrate him back into the team given Joao Cancelo’s standout performances over the last few weeks.
Flick and the club have both publicly expressed their satisfaction around Cancelo’s recent displays, which is bad news for Balde after previously being an undisputed starter that has now had his left back spot filled.
Kounde is another player that Flick will have to make a call on. As the Frenchman has only just recovered from injury, ‘wildcard’ Eric Garcia is expected to start at right back on Saturday but we’ll see how Flick either puts him back in the lineup in a straight swap or slowly reintroduces the defender.
Barcelona are open to offers for both Kounde and Balde
Kounde and Balde are also facing uncertain futures at FC Barcelona, who will be ready to consider good proposals should they receive any.
Last summer, multiple sources suggested Manchester City’s reported interest in Kounde, but the club was not even open to talking about a sale.
However, this time might be different, as Barca will be willing to hear any good proposal that comes their way.
Barcelona could potentially listen to offers for Balde too, although he’s stated on multiple occasions about his desire to succeed at the club.
With him being a young La Masia product, the Blaugrana won’t just consider any type of sale. In fact, Balde isn’t listed on the market and the club isn’t actively looking to part ways with him.
He’s lightly been labelled as a player who’s among the untouchables, a list that includes big names such as Pedri and Lamine Yamal.
This means it’d take a hugely significant offer for Barca to consider selling Balde this summer.
