Barcelona squad for the Spanish Super Cup – Araujo, three youth gems to travel; no Gavi | OneFootball

FC Barcelona travel this afternoon to Saudi Arabia to contest the Spanish Super Cup alongside Athletic Club, Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid.

The semi-finals begin on Wednesday with Barcelona against Athletic Club and continue on Thursday with Real Madrid facing Atletico Madrid, with the final scheduled for Sunday, 11 January.

Hansi Flick’s side complete their final training session on Monday morning at the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper before travelling to Saudi Arabia.

The German coach is taking a large delegation to Jeddah, with a squad of 24 players set to travel, reports SPORT.

Ronald Araujo included for the Super Cup

One of the main highlights is the inclusion of Ronald Araujo, who has not been named in a squad since 25 November, when Barcelona played at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea.

The Uruguayan decided to take time out to overcome anxiety issues and, although he was not included for the derby despite resuming training, he did travel with the team to the RCDE Stadium. And now, he will also be a part of the travelling squad for the Super Cup.

Araujo’s presence does not guarantee that he will feature in the matchday squad against Athletic Club. However, his inclusion is positive news, as it shows that the centre-back is gradually improving from the issues that led him to take a mental break.

Confirmed absences

Gavi will not be part of the travelling party, even though it was suggested that he could travel to support his teammates. He is one of the confirmed absences as he continues to recover from the injury that required another operation.

Gavi and Christensen will not be travelling (Photo by LLUIS GENE/AFP via Getty Images)

He remains in Barcelona to focus on his recovery and follow the planned timelines. The midfielder is progressing well, but it is still too early for him to return to competition.

Andreas Christensen also does not travel. He is still walking with discomfort and such a long journey would be counterproductive during his recovery process.

Three regulars from the reserve team

Jofre Torrents, Tommy Marques and Dro Fernandez, all regulars in recent weeks, will also make the trip.

The latter two trained at the Ciutat Esportiva on Monday morning, while the reserve team left-back did not train with the first team as he played the full match on Sunday for Barça Atlètic against Ibiza.

Barcelona squad travelling to Saudi Arabia

The full list of players travelling with Hansi Flick is as follows:

Goalkeepers: Joan Garcia, Marc-André ter Stegen, Wojciech Szczęsny

Defenders: Ronald Araujo, Alejandro Balde, Pau Cubarsi, Gerard Martin, Jules Kounde, Eric Garcia, Jofre Torrents

Midfielders: Pedri, Fermin Lopez, Marc Casado, Dani Olmo, Frenkie de Jong, Marc Bernal, Tommy Marques, Dro Fernandez

Forwards: Ferran Torres, Robert Lewandowski, Lamine Yamal, Raphinha, Marcus Rashford, Roony Bardghji