The likes of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar will be unavailable for FC Barcelona in their Supercopa de Catalunya 2016 (Catalan Super Cup 2016) match on Tuesday against Espanyol at the Nou Estadi in Tarragona, Catalonia, but that doesn't brush off the favourites tag from the La Liga giants, by any means.
This is the second-ever Catalan Super Cup -- an annual showdown between Catalonia's two major football clubs -- Barca and Espanyol. The two sides met for the first time in 2014 in Girona where Barcelona won via penalties.
Apart from the famed 'MSN', the likes of Marc Andre ter Stegen, Ivan Rakitic, Sergio Busquets, Javier Mascherano, Luca Digne, Sergi Roberto and Samuel Umtiti are also rested for this unofficial game. Meanwhile, Gerard Pique, Andres Iniesta, Jordi Alba, Jasper Cillessen and Aleix Vidal are sidelined via injuries.
Nevertheless, many of the Barcelona B players would have a chance of getting a much needed exposure through the match.
For Espanyol however, coach Quique Sanchez Flores is keen to bag a silverware and is going into the match with the majority of players from the first team. "We have a squad of 22 players and we will see how those with less involvement and less minutes compete," said Flores ahead of the game. "They [Barcelona] have trained well and it will be a good game. I always like to win against Barcelona. It's special, but it is what it is and we will not magnify anything."
Schedule
Barcelona vs Espanyol is set to get under way at 7:30 pm GMT (1 am IST [Wednesday], 3:30 pm EST) on October 25.
Where to watch live
SPAIN: TV - TV3
No TV coverage in India, UK or the US.
Radio commentary - Radio Barca.
Live scores - Twitter.