Football
Sam Marsden, Barcelona correspondent 7y

Barcelona without Gerard Pique and Arda Turan against Alaves

Barcelona will be without Gerard Pique and Arda Turan for Saturday's trip to Alaves after both sat out training on Friday.

Pique was taken off at half-time during last week's win over Athletic Bilbao with a thigh injury, but was able to play in the midweek Copa del Rey game against Atletico Madrid.

However, he has not trained since then and has not been named in Luis Enrique's 18-man squad for the trip to Vitoria.

Turan, meanwhile, has a groin problem but the club have not yet confirmed how long either player will be out.

Javier Mascherano and Rafinha are also sidelined for the league clash with Alaves, who will be Barca's Copa del Rey final opponents after they knocked out Celta Vigo on Wednesday.

Mascherano has a hamstring injury and Rafinha has a broken nose, although a personalised mask could allow him to return to the squad for Tuesday's Champions League tie against Paris Saint-Germain.

With both Mascherano and Pique missing, Samuel Umtiti and Jeremy Mathieu are the only fit central defenders available to Luis Enrique.

The Barca coach does once again have Andres Iniesta and Sergio Busquets at his disposal, though.

The two midfielders returned from calf and ankle injuries respectively as second-half substitutes against Atletico and could both start at the Mendizorroza.

Neymar is also available for action as well after missing the cup game in midweek through suspension, while Barca B's Carles Alena is also in the squad.

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