Joao Felix and Joao Cancelo in contention for Barcelona debuts

Barcelona could hand deadline day signings Joao Felix and Joao Cancelo their debuts against Osasuna on Sunday in a match coach Xavi is expecting to be a tough test for the reigning champions.

Portugal duo Felix and Cancelo were brought in on season-long loan deals on Friday from Atletico Madrid and Manchester City respectively and have been immediately named in a 22-man squad for the trip to Pamplona.

Inigo Martinez, a summer signing from Athletic Bilbao, is also in the squad for the first time after recovering from injury while Barca welcome back forward Raphinha from suspension after his opening-weekend dismissal at Getafe.

João and João pic.twitter.com/i1EttKezRu

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Xavi said: “The two newcomers (Felix and Cancelo) have trained with us and we’ll see, Inigo is maybe lacking something but is a great signing. Pre-season has been difficult for him and we’ll introduce him bit by bit.

“Cancelo and Felix are well physically, and with Inigo I’m very happy to have him in the squad.

“Joao Felix fits in 100 per cent. He’s a natural talent, he scores goals and he can make the difference.

“He’s a versatile player, can adapt to all the positions in attack, and he can help us a lot.”

Barca head to El Sadar having won back-to-back games since their goalless draw with Getafe but will come up against an Osasuna side who have had a similarly decent start to the LaLiga season.

Jagoba Arrasate’s men have beaten both Celta Vigo and Valencia away from home, either side of a 2-0 defeat to local rivals Athletic Bilbao.

Osasuna also suffered disappointment in Europe after being knocked out of the Europa Conference League play-off by Club Brugge this week – the Basque side surrendering a 2-0 lead in the second leg to tumble out 4-3 on aggregate – but Barca boss Xavi knows his side will be in for a battle.

He said: “They are an intense and difficult team, and much more so at home. They’ve been eliminated from the Conference, after playing on Thursday it is not the ideal scenario for them, but it will be complicated.”