Clément Lenglet will not travel to Granada due to the card cycle. This situation, together with Gerard Piqué's long-term injury, would have, a priori, to open the doors wide to Samuel Umtiti to regain ownership for this Saturday's game. However, the reality is very different: the French is right now the last center-back in the squad, or at least that is translated with the numbers in hand. And it is that even a player from the subsidiary, Óscar Mingueza, has gone ahead in the coach's preferences, Ronald Koeman. Umtiti has added a total of 20 minutes in LaLiga so far, with only two games, to Mingueza's 514, with eight games, a difference that leaves little room for doubt about what is Koeman's bet at this beginning of the course.
Umtiti is willing to reverse the situation, although he is aware that the context does not make it easy for him. In fact, It has been almost seven months since the central defender has started a game. The last time he was lined up in an eleven was last season, in a LaLiga match against Celta (2-2), where he played the 90 minutes with Piqué as a couple. Since that day, June 27, Samu has no longer appeared in a starting team..
The French central defender has been working very hard for a long time to regain his form and stripes, although having been off the pitch for almost four months from a relapse in his left knee It has left consequences, especially speaking of competition rhythm, as shown in the games that he has come off the bench, giving an image of a slow and heavy player.
Koeman will have to decide in the next few hours the name of the candidate who will accompany Ronald Araújo in the central axis of the defense against Granada, although everything indicates that Mingueza will be the chosen one. In fact, this pair of center-backs from the subsidiary has already repeated on more than one occasion in the first team, with more than acceptable results.
In the morning session of post-game recovery this Thursday, as usual, the starters who have taken to the field have had a very light session. In fact, some headlines, like Messi, Dembélé or Griezmann, stayed in the gym for a bath and massage session.