Barcelona will not be able to use the services of Portuguese defender João Cancelo, who is not registered for the team in the UEFA Champions League group stage. However, coach Hansi Flick will be able to rely on English striker Marcus Rashford, who ended his goal drought, as well as Brazilian Rafinha and Polish striker Robert Lewandowski. Earlier, Flick stated that no decision has yet been made on the possibility of converting Rashford's loan from Manchester United into a permanent contract in the summer. Flick said: «(The sporting director) Deco and I always talk about our team and what we can do. Marcus's performance has been very good so far, but we have to manage the situation. This is a task for Deco and the club for next season, and we have to wait». He added: «We have more time, many months, many days, many weeks. That's how things are».
The return of Egypt's national team captain, Mohamed Salah, to Liverpool is expected, although the club has not yet officially announced it. The final days of Salah's time with the English club before traveling to Morocco for the Africa Cup of Nations, where his team finished fourth, were shrouded in uncertainty about his future, following his exclusion from the squad after being accused by Liverpool of «abandoning him» after he sat on the bench for several matches. However, his Dutch coach, Arne Slot, confirmed last week: «We are in talks with him about what is expected of him there and what is expected of him here. He will return to us next week». He added: «I am happy with his return. It was very important for this club and for me personally, so I am happy with his return, even if I had 15 strikers, I would still be happy with his return».
Bad news continues for Spanish Barcelona, which lost its first match in about two months, and the gap with its rival Real Madrid narrowed to one point. The team is also missing its top scorer, Ferran Torres, due to injury, and star defender Lamine Yamal is suspended for an important match against Slavia Prague today, in the seventh and penultimate round of the group stage of the Champions League. This round is also crucial for English Liverpool and Italian Juventus, who are looking to secure a place in the top eight when they face Marseille and Benfica, respectively. In Prague, this will be Slavia's last chance to catch up for a playoff spot; the team has not won a single match and has only three points, and has not played any official match for over a month. For Barcelona, this is an opportunity to get ahead of a team that has not won a home match in the continental competition in the last eight matches, although the Catalan team enters the match with low morale after a loss to Real Sociedad that ended a streak of 11 consecutive wins in all competitions. Flick's team hopes to achieve its second away win in six Champions League matches (one draw and three losses), but he finds himself without two of his key attacking players: Lamine Yamal and Ferran Torres. The former's absence is due to accumulated yellow cards, while the club confirmed the latter's absence due to a muscle injury in his right leg, which he suffered in the last match against Sociedad and will sideline him for about 10 days.
