MADRID (Sporting Alert) – Barcelona will be without midfield playmaker Xavi for Saturday’s La Liga ‘Clasico’ against Real Madrid because of an injury.
The Spanish international has been ruled out of the game with a hamstring injury he picked on Tuesday, which forced him to be substituted midway through the second half of the Copa del Rey defeat to Real Madrid.
Eric Abidal, Martin Montoya and Jonathan Dos Santos were also left at home as they continue to recover.
Barcelona were stunned 3-0 at the Camp Nou in their Copa del Rey semi-final by Real Madrid with star forward Cristiano Ronaldo scoring twice in the contest.
There have been many who suggested that this was a great time for Madrid take on the shaken-up Catalans again, but midfielder Kaka does think it will be as easy as some are making it.
“We are not thinking about sending them into a crisis, we’re just thinking about what we need to do,” Kaka said during a press conference.
He added though that: “It’s always great for us to beat Barcelona. We have now shown we can beat anyone and that has made us feel very positive.
“We go into the game with a lot of confidence and we have to get three points to reduce the gap from 16 points to 13.”
Barcelona are expected to make changes for the clash with striker David Villa set to start after coming off the bench on Tuesday night.
Meanwhile, Lionel Messi is expected to play for Barcelona, despite taking sick after Tuesday’s game.
