Why are Frenkie de Jong and Pedri not playing for Barcelona against Almería in LaLiga?
Barcelona take on Almería in LaLiga match day 18 of the 2023/24 season (KO 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT.). The Game , to be held at Montjuïc, has Xavi Hernández scratching his head on how to fill the great big hole in his starting XI for the Game , given that both Pedri and Frenkie de Jong, his first choice creators, are unavailable. Barcelona sit in a precarious position in LaLiga: with Girona and Real Madrid 9 and 7 points ahead , respectively, they have to deal with pushing past Atlético Madrid into third before they can think of retaining their title. As well as this, Athletic Club and Real Sociedad are flying high this season and are locking their sights on that last, precious Champions League spot in the division. Tonight’s Game against Almería, currently rock-bottom of the league standings , presents an opportunity for the Catalan side to leapfrog Atlético and find some momentum before the Christmas break : good feelings have been hard to come by this season and as such, even b...