Barcelona leave out Pedri and Gavi for Basel friendly as pre-season workload managed

Barcelona have left out Pedri and Gavi for Sunday’s friendly against Swiss club Basel as part of their planned workload management before the start of the 2026-27 season.

The pair were not included in the squad for the match, which is Barcelona’s penultimate pre-season fixture. Most of the club’s players who represented their countries at the 2026 World Cup are involved, but Pedri and Gavi are among those absent, alongside several injured players and others whose futures remain unresolved.

Barcelona say there is no cause for concern over either midfielder and that their omission is a routine precaution during the final stages of preparation. Head coach Hansi Flick is keen to avoid taking unnecessary risks before the competitive campaign begins.

Pedri is following an individual fitness programme after returning to training, with the club having already explained that the Spain midfielder would work under a tailored conditioning plan during the opening days of pre-season.

The 23-year-old has been seen handling the ball normally in training and completing the sessions without any obvious difficulty. As a result, Barcelona do not expect his return to full team training to be delayed.

Gavi, meanwhile, cut his holiday short by about a week to return early and work under Flick. However, he did not travel with the squad for the visit to Udine, where Barcelona faced Nottingham Forest and Udinese, and he will also miss the meeting with Basel.

The Spain international has trained normally alongside his team-mates in recent days. Despite that, Flick decided not to take him to Switzerland as part of the club’s approach to managing player workloads.

Barcelona are taking particular care with their squad after the return of Frenkie de Jong from the World Cup with knee problems. The club are also dealing with an injury to Roony Bardghji, who is expected to be out for several months.

The Catalan side will complete their pre-season schedule against Al Ahly in the Joan Gamper Trophy at Camp Nou next Wednesday.

Barcelona finished as La Liga champions in each of the past two seasons, finishing above Real Madrid in the table. They are due to begin their league campaign in the second round of fixtures against Elche on Sunday, 23 August.

Their opening match against Athletic Club was postponed because of the large number of Barcelona players involved in the latter stages of the 2026 World Cup. The rearranged fixture will take place at Camp Nou on Thursday, 27 August.