Barcelona Star Ready for El Clasico After Four Matches Away

Barcelona’s upcoming clash with Real Madrid holds anticipation as a key player returns after missing four El Clasico matches in the past year.

In tonight’s pursuit of retaining their Spanish Super Cup title, Barcelona, fresh from a 2-0 victory over Osasuna, faces Real Madrid, who secured their spot in the final after a challenging match against city rivals Atletico Madrid.

Adding to Barcelona’s optimism is the return of midfielder Pedri, who’s been sidelined since December due to a muscular issue, causing him to miss pivotal fixtures.

Pedri has formed a pattern of missing significant matches like El Clasico due to untimely injuries. Notably absent from the La Liga clash against Real Madrid in the first half of the campaign, Barcelona suffered a 2-1 loss.

This marks Pedri’s comeback after missing the last four encounters between Barcelona and Real Madrid, marking his participation in an El Clasico for the first time in over a year tonight.

His last face-off against Real Madrid was in the Super Cup final exactly a year ago, where Pedri played a pivotal role, scoring a goal and contributing to Barcelona’s 3-1 triumph over Los Blancos.

Despite his stellar performance in the previous Super Cup final, uncertainties surround Pedri’s playing time this time. Recovering from an injury, it remains to be seen if coach Xavi will deploy him for the entire 90 minutes.

Xavi exercises caution, not wanting Pedri to risk aggravating his injury and ending up sidelined alongside Gavi once again. The balance of Barcelona’s strategy hinges on the cautious utilization of Pedri’s skills in this critical encounter.