Barcelona suffer injury crisis with Sergino Dest and Miralem Pjanic amongst many out of Sevilla Copa tie

Koeman explain centre-back plan

Barcelona face Sevilla in the first leg of the Copa Del Rey semi-final. Ronald Koeman has been speaking ahead of the fixture and has revealed the issues he faces regarding his centre back selection.

Gerard Pique has been out for some time with a serious injury and young defender Ronald Araujo is also out in the short term. The Dutch coach confirmed he will do what he can to play an orthodox option.

Barcelona suffer injury crisis with Sergino Dest and Miralem Pjanic amongst many out of Sevilla Copa tie

MADRID, SPAIN – NOVEMBER 21: Gerard Pique of FC Barcelona leaves the game in the second half with an injury during the La Liga Santander match between Atletico de Madrid and FC Barcelona at Estadio Wanda Metropolitano on November 21, 2020 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Diego Souto/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images)

“If we put de Jong as a centre-back, we will miss someone in midfield, but we have to decide thinking about the tactics of the game. We want someone used to playing there.”

Who will take Ronald Araujo’s place at center back? @RonaldKoeman‘s response: pic.twitter.com/37lzaywDXs

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) February 9, 2021

With the club seemingly out of the title race this season, the domestic cup competition is one of the best opportunities the club has of winning a trophy considering that both Real and Atletico Madrid are out of the tournament.

Barca injury crisis

Barcelona have suffered with serious injury issues throughout the campaign and have also recently picked up further problems after the weekend fixture.

“The injuries are there because several players are not well physically. This isn’t the time to take more risks. I think there are 8 or 9 players that are not available, but for any problem there is a solution,” said Koeman.

The players Koeman refers to are: Pique, Araujo. Sergino Dest, Miralem Pjanic, Martin Braithwaite, Sergi Roberto, Moussa Wague, Philippe Coutinho and Ansu Fati.

Koeman confirmed that the most recent issues lie with Dest, Braithwaite and Pjanic.

What’s the situation with @sergino_dest? pic.twitter.com/86iC4Iva7u

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) February 9, 2021

“He has trained, but he continues with discomfort. We have decided to leave him out and he will not return to the list until he’s 100%. If he’s not with us on Saturday, he will surely be there against PSG,” Koeman said on Sergino Dest.