Barcelona have been dealt a tough hand as they are set to face FC Porto in the Champions League tomorrow, but they may take some consolation that they will now not be greeted by a familiar enemy.
Xavi’s side are set to face the Portuguese giants in a tough away tie as they look to qualify for the knockout stages for the first time in his tenure, and whilst Barcelona are missing key players, the hosts also have a few issues.
They will now be without defender Pepe, whom Barcelona are very familiar with. Pepe, a Real Madrid hero, played against the Blaugrana 23 times in El Clasico, winning 10 of these encounters, and was often a nightmare for the Barcelona players in these heated clashes.
Pepe to miss Barcelona clash
AS have now reported that Pepe will miss out on what could have been a heated reunion, as he picked up a muscle injury, meaning Porto will be without both of their first-choice defenders.
Spanish veteran Ivan Marcano is also set to miss the tie, with Fabio Cardoso and David Carmo expected to start instead.
Pepe was a fiery figure back in the day, and he would always be involved whenever there were heated incidents during El Clasico, with Lionel Messi, David Villa, Luis Suarez and other attackers often finding themselves embroiled in tough physical battles with the centre-back.
Xavi himself even had a few altercations with Pepe when El Clasico was at its most heated, and it would have been interesting to see the pair face each other in these very different circumstances.
Barcelona facing old foes
Whilst Robert Lewandowski may feel some relief that he will not have to encounter the tough-tackling defender, Barcelona fans may see this as a missed opportunity.
The Blaugrana came up against old El Clasico villain Sergio Ramos last week, and the Spaniard ended up scoring a decisive own goal for Sevilla, much to the delight of the fans at Montjuic.
Beating Pepe now would have been incredibly satisfying for Barcelona fans, but whilst he is out, there is still a job to do as Xavi’s side aim to take the driving seat in the group.