Barcelona has lost fourth defender due to injury
Injuries continue to punish Barcelona's defensive line
Barcelona defender Xavi Espart was out for a long time after the injury he suffered in the 10th round match of the Spanish La Liga – El Clasico against Real. The match ended with the Catalans losing 1:2.
Medical examination revealed that the player has a syndesmosis injury of the right ankle joint. The injury occurred as a result of a collision with a player from the Madrid team. According to preliminary estimates of Barcelona's medical staff, Espart's recovery will take about seven weeks. Thus, the defender will miss a significant part of the upcoming matches of the Catalan club.
The match against Real was Espart's ninth appearance for Barcelona this season. During that time, the footballer recorded two goals and two assists.
Injury epidemic at Barcelona
Espart has already become the fourth defender that Barcelona loses due to injury this season. Before him, the list of injured Catalans included three more defenders – Andreas Christensen, Eric Garcia and Jules Kounde.
In addition to defenders, the injured players in Barça's squad also include attacking midfielder Dani Olmo and winger Runi Bardji.
What fantasy players should do with Barcelona defenders
First of all, you should get rid of Barcelona's defensive players in your fantasy teams in general, including the goalkeeper and defenders, because against the backdrop of such an injury epidemic, the goals-conceded metrics of the Blaugrana can change dramatically in the coming weeks.
However, opting for the Catalans' attacking stars – Lamin Yamal, Raphinha, Anthony Gordon, Fermín López and others – can be an effective choice, because it is the Barça attack that will have to “cover” all defensive shortcomings and score more goals than the team concedes due to a weakened defense.
Therefore, here's our advice for the Champions League Fantasy for the upcoming matches – do not pick Barcelona goalkeepers and defenders (except perhaps Joao Cancelo, who more often provides goal assists and scores goals), and maximize the “purchase” of Barça's attacking players for your squad.
By the way, Barcelona's upcoming Champions League opponents are Aston Villa (home match on November 3) and Azerbaijani Sabah (away game on November 25). By the time of the match in Baku, the personnel situation at the Catalan club is likely to change, although it's not certain that it will be for the better.
Source: FC Barcelona