Hansi Flick surprises with his first call-up for the crucial match between Valladolid and Barcelona! The list of 23 players for matchday 34 of LaLiga 24/25 includes unexpected surprises such as the return of Ter Stegen after his injury, but also important absences like Koundé's. How will these changes affect Barça's performance in their visit to the José Zorrilla?

The absences of Koundé and Pablo Torre, injured, and the call-up of three players from the youth team: defender Landry Cephas, midfielder Noah Darvich, and forward Dani Rodríguez, are the main novelties of the list.

FC Barcelona squad list vs. Real Valladolid (LaLiga 24/25 MD34)

POSITION: GOALKEEPERS

  1. (#01). Marc-André ter Stegen
  2. (#13). Iñaki Peña
  3. (#25). Wojciech Szczęsny

POSITION: DEFENDERS

  1. (#02). Pau Cubarsí
  2. (#04). Ronald Araujo
  3. (#05). Íñigo Martínez
  4. (#15). Andreas Christensen
  5. (#24). Eric García
  6. (#32). Héctor Fort
  7. (#35). Gerard Martín
  8. (#44). Landry Cephas

POSITION: MIDFIELDERS

  1. (#06). Gavi
  2. (#08). Pedri González
  3. (#16). Fermín López
  4. (#20). Dani Olmo 
  5. (#21). Frenkie de Jong
  6. (#34). Noah Darvich

POSITION: FORWARDS

  1. (#07). Ferran Torres
  2. (#10). Ansu Fati
  3. (#11). Raphinha
  4. (#18). Pau Víctor
  5. (#19). Lamine Yamal
  6. (#46). Dani Rodríguez

* The jersey number of each player is indicated in parentheses

Key Absences in the Barcelona vs. Valladolid Squad

In the call-up for the match between Real Valladolid and Barça, the Catalan team will have a total of five absences. The two new additions to this list of absences are Jules Koundé, injured in the match against Inter Milan, and Pablo Torre, who was a last-minute absence due to discomfort in his left ankle.

Koundé will not be able to be part of the call-up against Barcelona due to an injury

In addition, the Blaugrana team continues to face the absence of three key players in their squad: Lewandowski (injury to the semitendinosus muscle of the left thigh), Alejandro Balde (distal injury of the biceps femoris of the left thigh) and Marc Casadó (partial tear of the lateral external ligament of the right knee).

However, the recovery prospects of all of them are increasingly optimistic, especially for the crucial second leg against Inter Milan in the UEFA Champions League semi-finals.

In the case of Lewandowski, it was even speculated that the Polish striker could 'force' his return if the context demanded it. Now, his evolution is positive and everything indicates that he could be available for mid-week.

A similar situation is experienced by Alejandro Balde, who is working intensely on his recovery with the aim of arriving in time for the match against the 'nerazzurri' team.

Lewandowski and Balde in a match against Real Madrid

For his part, Marc Casadó —injured since mid-March— has already returned to training with the first team, so his return to an official call-up could occur shortly.

In contrast, the one who will not return this 2024/25 season is the young midfielder Marc Bernal. The youth player suffered a rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament of the left knee and an injury associated with the external meniscus in the match against Rayo Vallecano on August 27th, and due to the prolonged recovery process, he will miss the remainder of the season.

In summary, Barcelona will visit Real Valladolid with a large part of its squad available and with their minds set on the return leg of the Champions League semi-finals.

Against a rival already relegated and after the European wear and tear, everything indicates that Hansi Flick could introduce important rotations in the starting eleven of Barça on this matchday 34 of LaLiga EA Sports.