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MADRID, SPAIN | Xinhua | FC Barcelona and Atletico Madrid make their Champions League debuts on Thursday night with Barcelona traveling to Monaco, while Atletico Madrid are at home to RB Leipzig.
Barca travel to the south of France after starting the season with five wins from five games in La Liga and with 17-year-old Lamine Yamal in outstanding form, along with central defender Inigo Martinez, while midfielder, Pedri also looks to be getting close to his best after a long run of physical problems.
Hansi Flick’s job will be to ensure that the trio remain free of injuries under the intense fixture schedule, with Martinez and Pedri both struggling with muscle problems for the past couple of seasons.
Flick is certainly working hard at his task, with stories that he arrives at Barcelona’s training ground at 6 a.m. to prepare his training sessions.
New signing Dani Olmo is out with a hamstring issue, and Fermin Lopez suffered a relapse of his muscle problem training on Tuesday, but the good news for Flick is that Frenkie de Jong and Gavi are training with the squad again as they look to get back to action.
Flick may look to rotate his squad after Sunday’s win in Girona and a tough visit to Villarreal this weekend, with Ferran Torres and Eric Garcia both in with a good chance of starting.
Atletico welcome Leipzig after an impressive 3-0 win at home to Valencia on Sunday in a game that saw new signings, Conor Gallagher and Julian Alvarez score their debut goals for the club.
Gallagher has quickly won over the Atletico fans after his move from Chelsea, thanks to his high workrate and ability to score important goals, while Alvarez adds guile to an attack containing Alexander Sorloth (another summer arrival), Antoine Griezmann and Angel Correa.
Last season Atletico were able to turn their Metropolitano Stadium into a veritable fortress, winning all five of their European matches in front of their supporters and it will be a 60,000 full house as they start this season’s campaign. ■
