Guardiola Present for Match Against Zaragoza

Barcelona will have an additional boost today at the Nou Camp as coach Pep Guardiola will be present in Saturday's match against Zaragoza.  Guardiola was admitted to a local hospital after arriving from their midweek win at Valencia.  

After being diagnosed with a herniated disc, Guardiola will not be on the bench.  Instead he will allow assistant Tito Vilanova to take over the reigns as he was the one that prepared the team for this match in the past couple of days. 

After the match, Guardiola will be readmitted to the USP Dexeus clinic and will endure yet another series of treatments and get a better idea as to the type of treatment that he will have to endure.   

Another “player” that has been sorely missed by everyone at Can Barca is that of captain Carles Puyol.  Although there was speculation of the Spanish central defender would be given medical clearance at the weekend in order to get ready for their big Champions League clash against Arsenal.  Unfortunately for him that did not happen as he did not pass a fitness test on Saturday and he was scratched from the Zaragoza lineup.  Puyol looked to make his return to the starting lineup after being out of action the past three weeks due to a knee injury.    

The good news is that Spanish international goalkeeper Víctor Valdés will make his return to the starting lineup after being out for due to a knee injury. 

Now the speculation of his return is making people anxious, as Gerard Piqué will be unavailable, as he will be serving a one-match suspension.  The coaching staff would now even consider having both Éric Abidal and Sergio Busquets in the backline. 

Meanwhile Zaragoza coach Javier Aguirre will have a very shorthanded roster as seven starters will be out of the Nou Camp match up due to either suspension (Contini, Gabi, Ponzio) or injury (Boutahar, Lafita, Franco, Braulio).   This makes Los Maños battle to avoid relegation that much more complicated.  Zaragoza find themselves only two points clear of relegation. 

Referee:  Teixeira Vitienes

Kickoff:  2:00pm ET