Barca defender Gerard Pique needs to rest his knee
The centre-back should get one against Las Palmas
Umtiti and Vermaelen are likely to start the match
Since he was on the end of Gerard Moreno's challenge against Espanyol in the Catalan derby, Barcelona's Gerard Pique has been playing with pain in his knee. He rested against Getafe, but he played 90 minutes against Eibar and Chelsea and also started against Girona, although Ernesto Valverde took him off in the second half.
He's not injured, but his knee does need a rest and Valverde will give him one on Thursday. Save any surprises, Pique will not play at the Estadio Gran Canaria.
The defender forced his participation in the last three games despite not being at 100 percent. He started the matches well but the pain caught up with him as the minutes passed. Only on Saturday, though, against Girona, was he taken of.
However, everything suggests Pique will not rest against Las Palmas, with Barça's game at home to Atletico Madrid on Sunday in mind. That's followed by a trip to Malaga on March 10 and the home game against Chelsea in the Champions League on March 14.
Umtiti and Vermaelen
If Pique doesn't travel to Gran Canaria, the most likely parnership will be Samuel Umtiti and Thomas Vermaelen, a duo who have only played 90 minutes together before in the past (against Valencia when Pique was suspended) and then 26 minutes together against Girona at the weekend.
The Frenchman and the Belgian both replaced each other when they got injured this season: Vermaelen came on for Umtiti against Celta and Umtiti came on for Vermaelen against Real Betis in Seville.
