Setien's problems in defence vs. Mallorca & in the middle vs. Napoli
The Barça coach is going to have to juggle his options over the next week
They're not making things easy for Quique Setien. Neither the club nor chance, which always plays an important factor across a season, seems to be on his side. Injuries, suspensions, sales, a short squad, bad luck... It's been one thing after another for the Barcelona coach so far.
Without going any further, on Tuesday, he only had 13 first-team players available. Samuel Umtiti is not training with the team due to the 'eternal' problems he has with his knee, while Ivan Rakitic was given permission to miss the session (it happened to be his birthday, too).
In addition, Arthur, Sergi Roberto, Luis Suarez and Ousmane Dembele are all injured. Arthur and Roberto are working hard to return for the Napoli game next week.
'TETRIS'
For the next two games, Setien will have to juggle his options as he manages injuries and suspensions. For Saturday's match at Mallorca, Clement Lenglet is banned and the uncertainty over Umtiti brings Barça B's Ronald Araujo into the picture. The other option is to drop Sergio Busquets or Frenkie de Jong in alongside Pique.
Arthur and Roberto won't be back. They will be needed for the Champions League game, though, with Busquets and Vidal both suspended. Setien will have to play 'tetris' with his midfield. De Jong and Rakitic are the only two definitely available as it stands. The coach will have to come up with an emergency plan for the game behind closed doors.
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