Arda Turan returns to the squad after missing the defeat to Valencia due to suspension
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Barcelona star Arda Turan has returned to Luis Enrique's 18-man squad for the La Liga clash against Deportivo de la Coruna on Wednesday night (20 April), even though the Turkish international couldn't train on Tuesday (19 April) after suffering from gastritis, having already missed the weekend defeat to Valencia due to suspension. Aleix Vidal, meanwhile, appears as the most notorious absentee, alongside suspended Gerard Pique and third keeper Jordi Masip after the boss has surprisingly decided to leave the full-back out of the travel to Galicia for technical reasons.
Sandro Ramirez, Thomas Vermaelen and Jeremy Mathie also are out due to injuries but Rafinha Alcara returns to the list after the Brazilian has overcome his latest setback.
The 18 players travelled to La Coruña on Wednesday morning ahead of the crucial game in their bid to revalidate their claim to the La Liga title. Barcelona remain at the top of La Liga table ahead of Atletico Madrid, thanks to their goal difference, but there is no longer any margin for error with Barcelona only securing one point from their last four games after suffering three consecutive defeats to Real Madrid, Real Sociedad and Valencia.
Another setback could see Barcelona finally conceding their leadership as both Atletico and Real Madrid will overcome them in the table should they win their respective Wednesday encounters against Athletic Club Bilbao and Villarreal, with Los Colchoneros equal on points with the Catalans and Los Blancos just one point behind.
Luis Enrique used most of his gala XI during the 2-1 defeat to Valencia last weekend, with Sergio Roberto replacing Dani Alves in the right-back role and the MSN attack formed by Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar up front.
Yet the Barcelona manager will be forced to make some changes against Deportivo, as Pique is suspended after the centre-back saw his 10th yellow card against Valencia. Marc Bartra, therefore, is expected to fill his gap, alongside Javier Mascherano in the heart of the defence. Furthermore, Ivan Rakitic could be also rested to make space for Roberto in the middle of the park, with Alves returning to the right-back.
Turan, meanwhile, had been expected to miss the game due to a bout of gastritis but he finally made the squad and is ready to return to action after he missed the game with Valencia due to suspension.
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"Not making the trip will be Gerard Piqué, serving a one-game suspension for yellow card accumulation, as well as the injured Sandro, Vermaelen and Mathieu. Arda Turan, however, is over his bout with gastritis and is travelling with the team. Jordi Masip and Aleix Vidal are out due to coach's decision,"
Barcelona have confirmed.
The absence of Vidal surprising given that the Spaniard was signed from Sevilla last summer with the intention to fight with Alves for the right-back role. However, he has failed to make the impact expected, falling out of the pecking order and losing out to a variety of Alves himself, the versatile Sergio Roberto and even Douglas Pereira.