FC Barcelona will be without their starting goalkeeper for more than a bit now, as Marc-Andre ter Stegen has elected to have an operation to repair his back injury. It means he’ll be out awhile longer than expected and it leaves the No. 1 starting shot stopper gig in the hands of Inaki Pena for the time being.
The other major piece of Barcelona team news, heading into the absolutely monster clash in La Liga between the Catalan club and surprising Girona relates to Inigo Martinez.
FC Barcelona vs Girona FYIs
Kickoff: Sun. Dec. 3, 20:00 CET, Olympic Stadium, Barcelona, Spain
Preview Material: for Both Clubs’ Team News Barca Starting XI Prediction
Transatlantic Passage: How the Premier League Redefined Soccer in America: LINK
La Liga Standing, Form: Girona 2nd, 38 pts, WDWWL FC Barcelona 3rd, 34 pts, WDWWW
Google Result Probability: Girona 17% Draw 19% FC Barcelona 64%
Team News for Both Sides
He has a hamstring injury that will keep him sidelined for the rest of the calendar year. He should be back after the festive period is over. And obviously, Gavi is out for the rest of the club season, and next summer’s Euro 2024 with an ACL tear.
Shifting gears to the second place side, Borja Garcia and Ricard Artero are strong doubts for this one while Yangel Herrera, Joel Roca and Toni Villa are definitively ruled out.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He’s written for numerous publications, including the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. He regularly appears on NTD News and WGN News Now, while writing for the International Baseball Writers Association of America. You can follow the website on Twitter.