Barcelona boss FURIOUS as club set to play key league game without stars due to fixture scheduling | OneFootball

Barcelona host Osasuna in La Liga on Thursday night, less than 48 hours after some of their players featured in international matches.

And boss Hansi Flick has been left furious with the situation, slamming the schedule which will force star man Raphinha and Ronald Araujo to miss out.

“I don’t want to speak about my reaction, I think it is not good,” Flick said.

“Players have played for their national teams, but we have to play this match. We can speak about if it is the right time to play this tomorrow.

“It is to do with recovery for the players. I am not happy with this. When you see other leagues with their Champions League teams, it is different to here.

“When you play Champions League, it is not about Real Madrid against Barcelona, it is about protecting your Spanish teams. But we play, no excuses.

The German coach continued: ”We accept this. It is a task for UEFA, for FIFA that they say after international breaks it is necessary that the players have three days rest. LaLiga say we have to play and so we say ‘Yes, we do it.’”

The game was initially scheduled for earlier this month however it was postponed just 20 minutes before kick-off after the death of Barcelona’s team doctor Carles Miñarro Garcia.

Fixture congestion was already an issue for the La Liga leaders and the game will be squeezed in tonight.

Raphinha, meanwhile, has arguably been Barcelona’s most important player this season, however he will not be available tonight.

The winger featured for Brazil in a humiliating 4-1 defeat in Argentina less than 48 hours ago and there has not been sufficient time for the star to return to Spain and recover for his side’s La Liga match.

Flick declared: “Raphinha and Ronald (Araujo) will not play, they are out.

“They have a long flight. It is not the best way. They have to recover, to train.”

A crucial moment of the season is approaching for Barcelona as they continue to compete in every available competition.

They have a slender advantage over Real Madrid at the top of La Liga, are level with Atletico Madrid in the Copa Del Rey semi-final and have an upcoming Champions League quarter-final tie with Borussia Dortmund.

The Catalan giants will hope that injuries do not ruin their season. Flick said: “I have a meeting with my staff, also the physiotherapists, the fitness coaches, and we spoke about what we can do to recover better and faster.

“They said to me, ‘Hey, coach, the players are good, they are fit.’ They think to play every three days is not a big thing for them, so I believe in them and we will see what happens.”