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Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola: Sergio Busquets is doubtful for Valencia clash
The midfielder suffered a cut to his right knee after colliding with Real Sociedad defender Carlos Martinez during the closing stages of Saturday's 2-1 victory over Real Sociedad
7 Feb 2012 22:30:00
By Mark Doyle
Pep Guardiola - Barcelona
Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola has revealed that Sergio Busquets is a doubt for Wednesday night's Copa del Rey semi-final second-leg showdown with Valencia at Camp Nou.
The Spain international midfielder suffered a deep cut to his right knee after colliding with Real Sociedad defender Carlos Martinez during the closing stages of Saturday's 2-1 victory over the Basques.
Guardiola admitted during his pre-game press conference on Tuesday evening that Busquets was his "most doubtful" injury concern for the visit of Los Che.
However, the Catalan coach added: "Xavi's fine, Alexis [Sanchez] is doing pretty well and we will see tomorrow how Andres [Iniesta] and Pedro are."
Turning his attention to the opposition, Guardiola said that he is expecting Valencia to push Barca just as hard as Real Madrid did in the quarter-finals.
With the tie delicately poised at 1-1 after last week's first-leg clash at Mestalla, the 41-year-old is predicting things will go right down to the wire.
"Valencia have always maintained a very high level and the opinion I have regarding them remains the same," he explained.
"As against Madrid, I have a feeling that the tie will not be decided until the last minute."
Jonas opened the scoring for Valencia at Mestalla last week only for Barca to equalise through Carles Puyol before Lionel Messi missed a second-half penalty for the visitors.
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The Spain international midfielder suffered a deep cut to his right knee after colliding with Real Sociedad defender Carlos Martinez during the closing stages of Saturday's 2-1 victory over the Basques.
Guardiola admitted during his pre-game press conference on Tuesday evening that Busquets was his "most doubtful" injury concern for the visit of Los Che.
However, the Catalan coach added: "Xavi's fine, Alexis [Sanchez] is doing pretty well and we will see tomorrow how Andres [Iniesta] and Pedro are."
Turning his attention to the opposition, Guardiola said that he is expecting Valencia to push Barca just as hard as Real Madrid did in the quarter-finals.
With the tie delicately poised at 1-1 after last week's first-leg clash at Mestalla, the 41-year-old is predicting things will go right down to the wire.
"Valencia have always maintained a very high level and the opinion I have regarding them remains the same," he explained.
"As against Madrid, I have a feeling that the tie will not be decided until the last minute."
Jonas opened the scoring for Valencia at Mestalla last week only for Barca to equalise through Carles Puyol before Lionel Messi missed a second-half penalty for the visitors.
Starting in November and continuing through to the middle of February, Goal.com is publishing exclusive extracts from Graham Hunter's highly-anticipated new book, 'Barca: The Making of the Greatest Team in the World'. The last extract looked at how Barca suffered rare disappointment at the hands of Real Madrid in a gripping finale to last season's Copa del Rey. Don't miss it!
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| Open an account with Sportingbet today and get up to £50 in free bets! |
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| Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25 |
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Live!
England 1-0 Belgium, Netherlands 6-0 Northern Ireland - follow all the international action LIVE! ahead of Euro 2012
With countries across the continent gearing up for their final warm-up games ahead of Euro 2012, join us for all the action from Saturday's friendlies. Get in touch with us via Twitter with your reaction.
Hosted by Joe Doyle
Hosted by Joe Doyle
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