Confirmed: Barcelona announce squad list to face Aston Villa – four youth team players included

Confirmed: Barcelona announce squad list to face Aston Villa – four youth team players included Barcelona have announced their squad for the UEFA Champions League meeting with Aston Villa at the Spotify Camp Nou, with Hansi Flick turning to the academy amid a series of absences. The Catalans enter the fixture with two wins and one defeat in the league phase, having lost to Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes.  Aston Villa, meanwhile, arrive with a perfect record after winning all three of their opening matches. Flick has been forced to manage several selection problems, with five players unavailable for the European encounter, and the situation has opened the door for four young players to feature in the first-team squad. Five absentees leave Flick short of options Notably, Andreas Christensen, Eric Garcia, Jules Kounde, Dani Olmo and Xavi Espart are all missing from Barcelona’s squad for the Aston Villa match. The absences leave Flick with fewer options across defence and midfield, making academy involvement important as Barcelona prepare for another demanding Champions League fixture. Rather than relying exclusively on his senior players, the German coach has included several youngsters who have been involved in the club’s youth setup. Four academy players included in Barcelona squad On that note, Alex Campos, Guillem Victor, Hamza Abdelkarim and Orian Goren have all earned places in the squad for the meeting with Unai Emery’s side. Goren is the most notable addition compared with the squad that faced Alaves last Saturday.  The youngster had already been included on the bench for the Clasico against Real Madrid, although he did not play. As such, his inclusion comes at the expense of Ebrima Tunkara, who will instead represent the youth side in the UEFA Youth League.