Thierry Henry’s lower back problems continue and he was today ruled out of Saturday’s derby with Espanyol. Sylvinho who has problems with his left knee, will also miss the game, joining Edmilson, Oleguer, Deco and Eto’o on the injured list. Messi and Gudjohnsen both have minor muscle strains but should be OK for Saturday.

On the positive side, Samuel Eto’o has been training this week with the group and his return to the team is very close. Jose Edmilson also rejoined his team mates for training today and will hopefully be ready to return to the team for the new year. Giovani dos Santos is also fit again after the injury he picked up against Alcoyano and will be in contention for a place this weekend.

With Henry out, there could well be another start for Bojan Krkic. Rijkaard will choose two from three of Bojan, Ronaldinho and Gudjohnsen for the game. It is building up to be a very big derby match, with Espanyol looking to leapfrog Barça into third place. For Barça it could be a make or break game as defeat will undoubtedly lead to an avalanche of criticism, with Rijkaard and Ronaldinho’s futures under question, a win would silence the critics and give rise to an optimistic view that all the problems are a thing of the past. With a complicated month ahead with league games against Depor, Valencia and Madrid, it will be vital to start the month with a good result.