“Will be missed tonight”, “None of our midfielders press better” – Barcelona fans unhappy with star player not being in line-up to face Real Madrid

Barcelona fans are a bit disheartened to see Gavi not being a part of the team's first XI to take on Real Madrid in their pre-season friendly clash in the United States. They opined that Gavi is the best pressing player in the team.

Barca are set to take on their arch-rivals Los Blancos in their second pre-season game of the season. The Blaugrana enter the contest on the back of a 5-3 defeat against Arsenal. Los Blancos, meanwhile, defeated Manchester United 2-0 in their previous game.

Despite being a friendly, the clash is expected to be a high-paced one. The two Spanish teams are never willing to give each other an inch of space.

Xavi has fielded a strong lineup for the match as Marc-Andre Ter Stegen starts in goal. Alejandro Balde, Andreas Christensen, Ronald Araujo, and Jules Kounde are the four defenders.

Pedri, Ilkay Gundogan, Frenkie de Jong, and Oriol Romeu start in the midfield. Robert Lewandowski starts alongside French speedster Ousmane Dembele in the attack.

Fans, though, are unsure about Gavi's absence as one of them wrote on Twitter:

"Gavi will be missed tonight. None of our midfielders press better than this lad."

Here are some of the best Twitter reactions ahead of kickoff:

❗️Official: Barça's XI against Real Madrid. pic.twitter.com/98CfHcKdf4

@BarcaUniversal Where is my Gavi 😒

@BarcaUniversal Gavi will be missed tonight. None of our midfielders press better than this lad.

@BarcaUniversal we will miss this boy pic.twitter.com/LIN8VfKwFs

@BarcaUniversal They have to sub gavi and raphinia in instead of dembele and Romeu but overall nice XI

@BarcaUniversal Where is gavi 😠😠😠😠😠

No gavi? Hmmmm twitter.com/barcauniversal…

Barcelona star Sergi Roberto on the clash against Real Madrid

Ahead of the El Clasico in the United States, Barcelona's Sergi Roberto gave a reminder that there are no friendly matches when facing Los Blancos. Considering the rivalry between the two Spanish giants, Roberto's words shouldn't come as a surprise.

While both teams are gearing up for the 2023-24 season, the El Clasico is a massive test for either team as they look to be in peak condition ahead of the next campaign. Roberto said about the game (via Barca Blaugranes):

“A Clasico is always special, but we’ve only played one game. We had that stomach problem. It’s the second game of the pre-season, but against Real Madrid, you always have to go out and win."

Fans can expect to be treated to top notch entertainment during the showdown in the United States. The game is set to start in less than an hour and both teams have fielded a strong line-up.