Barcelona change Eibar travel plans to avoid Catalan strike
The original journey for their LaLIga fixture on Saturday was to catch a flight on Friday, then a coach, and now they have had to revise that again.
After some deliberation, FC Barcelona have finally decided to change their travel plans for Saturday's game against Eibar. As we reported yesterday, the original idea was to make the journey to Vitoria on Friday by coach after confirming that catching a plane that day was impossible due to the planned general strike in Catalonia. So a Thursday departure has been agreed.
Barcelona beat the strikes
Ernesto Valverde was keen to rule out that initial option, believing that a trip of six hours and more than 600 kilometres was not best for the team's preparations. There was an added risk of getting caught up in the protests with potentially further road closures that may not be foreseen.
After a meeting at the facilities of the Ciutat Esportiva, therefore, the decision was made to leave a day earlier than usual. The team will train on Thursday at 16:30, Valverde will appear at the press conference, and then they'll all go to El Prat airport to catch a charter flight to Vitoria. On Friday, they are scheduled to work out at the Alavés training venue.
It remains to be seen whether or not the suspended Dembélé and Piqué will also travel with the squad to participate in Friday's session or if they will stay in Barcelona.
What remains unchanged is the trip back to Barcelona. The blaugrana group will leave immediately after the game on Saturday, departing at 16:45 from Vitoria airport, landing at 17:45 at El Prat airport. It is unclear if the airport will be fully functioning by then.