Barcelona star to miss Copa del Rey clash due to unusual reason, boss Xavi must be frustrated

Barcelona will be seeking their 32nd triumph in the Copa del Rey this season and will hope to make the next round when they take on Barbastro this evening.

The Catalan outfit are on the road to the Spanish fourth-tier side in the round of 32 as Xavi's side aim to lift the trophy for the first time in three years, after last winning it in the 2020/21 campaign.

Barca sit third in La Liga and seven points behind El Clasico rivals Real Madrid and surprise package Girona, though the Catalans are also in the last 16 of the Champions League where they will face Italian side Napoli.

Barca will be hoping to be in the hat for the last 16 phase of the competition, though they will have to do it without winger Lamine Yamal, who made his debut last season for the first team aged only 15.

The 16-year-old has burst onto the scene for Barca this season and has 25 appearances in all competitions so far this campaign, scoring his first goal for the club in August in a 2-2 draw versus Granada.

Roughly half of those appearances have been starts too, so Yamal is firmly in Xavi's thinking with the games he has played from the beginning.

He is also now a fully-fledged Spanish international with four caps to his name.

But Yamal will not be available for Barca tonight for a very good reason - he is suspended, but perhaps not in the way you might first suspect.

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Yamal is serving a suspension after being sent off in last season's Copa del Rey Junior competition, and the ban has carried over into the senior one.

In addition to this, the ban last two games, so the teenager will be out of the last 16 clash should Barcelona qualify for the next stage of the competition.

It is something that Barca boss Xavi is well aware of, saying: "We know that Lamine Yamal got a red card in the Copa Del Rey [Junior] and will be suspended for two games."

Yamal could next feature for Barca later this week when they take on Osasuna in the Spanish Super Cup.