Barcelona’s defensive options shrink further ahead of Deportivo Alaves test

Barcelona manager Hansi Flick has been dealt another defensive setback, with Jules Kounde ruled out of Saturday’s La Liga meeting with Deportivo Alaves at Spotify Camp Nou.

The club’s defensive problems have intensified in recent weeks, with several players injured and Xavi Espart expected to be sidelined for about seven weeks. Kounde had been expected to return to training with the first-team squad this week, but that plan has now been abandoned.

Despite optimism earlier in the week, the France defender’s left ankle has not recovered sufficiently from the sprain he suffered in Barcelona’s match against Real Betis 10 days ago. He was absent for the defeats by Paris Saint-Germain, who won 4-2 in the Champions League, and Real Madrid, who won 2-1 in La Liga, because of the injury.

The initial intention was for Kounde to rejoin group training in midweek and be available for the Alaves fixture. However, he felt discomfort while putting on his boot on Wednesday and completed an individual session instead.

With the match approaching, all parties decided on Thursday that Kounde should not attempt a return. Pushing to play would risk worsening the injury.

Kounde’s availability would have been particularly important to Flick because Eric Garcia, Andreas Christensen and Xavi Espart are also unavailable. Barcelona must now prepare to face Alaves on 31 October 2026 with Joao Cancelo, Pau Cubarsi, Gerard Martin and Alejandro Balde as their only available defenders.

One possible adjustment would be to move Brian Farinas into the right-back position as part of the rotation options. Another, considered less likely, would be to use Rodri or Frenkie de Jong in the centre of defence.

Alex Campos, an 18-year-old centre-back from the reserve team, has trained with the senior squad in recent days and could be included in the matchday squad. His involvement would provide Flick with an additional defensive option as Barcelona attempt to cope with the growing injury list.