Hamza Abdelkarim named in Barcelona squads for Aston Villa Champions League games

Hamza Abdelkarim has been included in both Barcelona’s senior and youth squads for Tuesday’s Champions League meetings with Aston Villa.

Aston Villa travel to Barcelona for the fourth round of the league phase, with the senior match scheduled for 22:00. Barcelona manager Hans-Dieter Flick has selected the Egypt international for the first-team fixture.

Abdelkarim is also listed for Barcelona’s youth match against the same opponents, which is due to begin at 17:00. He is not currently with the senior squad, but could join the first team at Camp Nou after the youth game has finished.

The former Al Ahly striker has been named in Flick’s squad for every match since the start of the season apart from one. However, he has played only 12 minutes, prompting him to feature for the reserve or youth side to regain match sharpness.

Barcelona’s senior squad is missing five injured players: Eric Garcia, Jules Kounde, Andreas Christensen, Dani Olmo and Xavi Espart.

Flick’s squad is:

Goalkeepers: Joan Garcia, Dominik Livakovic, Wojciech Szczesny.

Defenders: Joao Cancelo, Alejandro Balde, Pau Cubarsi, Gerard Martin, Alex Campos, Guillem Victor.

Midfielders: Brian Farinas, Gavi, Fermin Lopez, Pedri, Rodri, Frenkie de Jong, Marc Bernal, Oriol Goren.

Forwards: Hamza Abdelkarim, Gabriel Jesus, Lamine Yamal, Raphinha, Anthony Gordon, Karim Adeyemi.

On Monday, Spanish newspaper Sport reported that Barcelona had decided to strengthen their youth team with several senior players, including Abdelkarim.

The most notable changes to the youth squad for the match were the inclusion of Abdelkarim and Ibrahima Tonkara.

According to the report, Abdelkarim did not complete Monday’s training session with the first team. Barcelona’s management instead decided he should join the youth side to make his first appearance in the competition.

The decision came as the Egyptian forward’s opportunities with the senior team have declined. With Gabriel Jesus and Raphinha among the attacking options available, the club’s sporting department believes a spell with the youth team will give Abdelkarim the chance to train and play at a high competitive level.

Abdelkarim has already played once for Barcelona’s reserve team and scored in that match.