Hamza Abdelkarim at centre of unusual Barcelona situation against Aston Villa

Hamza Abdelkarim at centre of unusual Barcelona situation against Aston Villa Barcelona forward Hamza Abdelkarim finds himself in an unusual situation ahead of Tuesday’s European double-header against Aston Villa, having been included in the squad lists for both the first team and Juvenil A. The Egyptian striker, who is registered with Barça Atletic , could feature for two different Barcelona sides facing the same opponent in separate competitions, now that he has also been named in the starting XI for the youth team.  Hansi Flick has selected him for the Champions League fixture, while Juvenil A coach Pol Planas has also called him up for the UEFA Youth League encounter. The scheduling creates an intriguing situation for the 18-year-old, whose progression through Barcelona’s ranks has already taken him from the reserve team to the senior squad. Hamza trains with Flick before Champions League call-up Hamza joined Barcelona’s first-team training session on Monday as Flick prepared his players for the meeting with Unai Emery’s Aston Villa. His inclusion in the senior squad was confirmed on Tuesday, giving him another opportunity to be involved with the first team after having made his official debut under Flick against Rayo Vallecano on 31 August. However, the forward was called up by Planas for Juvenil A’s Youth League fixture against the English club.  His presence on both lists is particularly notable because he is officially registered with Barcelona’s reserve side. Hamza Abdelkarim has progressed through three levels Hamza joined Barcelona in February 2026 and completed pre-season training with the first team before making his senior debut. He subsequently featured for Barça Atlètic, making his first appearance for the reserve side in October.  At present, Barcelona are in need of winning against Aston Villa across both categories. To begin with, Juvenil A sit 20th in the standings with four points, while Aston Villa are 26th with three.  A victory would give Barcelona an opportunity to improve their position and strengthen their hopes of progressing. The first-team situation is different, as Barcelona have collected six points and sit eighth, while Aston Villa are second with nine points after winning all three of their opening matches. Juvenil A will kick off quite early at the Estadi Johan Cruyff, with the senior sides meeting at the Spotify Camp Nou at 9pm (local time), and it remains to be seen whether he will indeed play a role with the senior team or not.