Barcelona‘s Flick Faces Midfield Crisis Ahead of Camp Nou Return
Barcelona, Spain - Hansi Flick’s first competitive home match in charge at the renovated Spotify Camp Nou will be elaborate by a depleted midfield, mirroring challenges he faced early in his tenure. the Blaugrana host Athletic Club with key players Frenkie de Jong and Pedri unavailable for selection.
De Jong is serving a suspension after receiving two yellow cards during the recent match against Celta Vigo. Pedri remains sidelined due to an ongoing injury, creating a familiar dilemma for flick, who previously navigated a similar situation last season when both midfielders were together unavailable.
During those absences, Flick successfully integrated academy players into the first team.Against Valencia and Athletic Club last season, Marc Casado and marc Bernal formed the midfield pairing, contributing to victories in both encounters. A slight variation saw Pedri deployed further forward against AS Monaco, with Eric García and Casado anchoring the midfield. The García-Casado pairing also secured a win against Getafe.
Currently, casado is available after recovering from a minor injury that ruled him out of the Celta Vigo match and is expected to feature alongside fermin Lopez. Bernal is also in contention, having recently played for the Catalan national team in a friendly against Palestine.
Flick will need to rely on these younger options as Barcelona welcomes Athletic Club back to the Camp Nou.
