Marcos Llorente appeal rejected as Atletico Madrid lose key asset for Barcelona clash

Atletico Madrid midfielder Marcos Llorente will not be available for their crunch match with Barcelona this Sunday, after his appeal against a yellow card was rejected.

Llorente was booked against Almeria last Sunday, meaning he will miss out on Camp Nou this weekend, after the Competition Committee rejected their appeal, which claimed Llorente’s foul did not end a promising attack. Rayo Vallecano winger Alvaro Garcia also had an appeal rejected, and will miss their clash with Real Sociedad, as per Diario AS.

Llorente was in a good run of form for Atletico, having started the last eight games in which Los Blancos have been victorious in seven of those matches.

Memphis Depay did not train on Thursday, and looks doubtful to return to Camp Nou again this season. Angel Correa missed training too, but his set to be available, and partner Antoine Griezmann up front against the Blaugrana. Thomas Lemar will likely replace Llorente in midfield alongside Rodrigo de Paul and Koke Resurreccion in midfield.

A struggling Barcelona side are set to welcome back three key players to their ranks with varying levels of fitness. It sees the league leaders attempting to end a run of three games without a win or a game against the most in-form team in Spain.