The new date for Barça-Osasuna creates a new headache for Hansi Flick, find out why!

The resolution of the Single Judge of Professional Competitions to schedule the match between FC Barcelona and CA Osasuna for next March 27 poses a significant sporting inconvenience for the culé team, seriously affecting their competitive capacity in a specific aspect: the formation of their defensive line, especially in the center-back pairing.

The FC Barcelona knows that for the match against Osasuna, they will arrive with two injured defenders. Both Iñigo Martínez (internal meniscus injury in the right knee), who was recently injured, and Andreas Christensen (re-injured his soleus in the right leg), are not expected to be available due to their respective setbacks. This leaves only three players as alternatives to reinforce the defense: Pau Cubarsí, Eric García, and Ronald Araujo.

The main problem at this point, and why it makes perfect sense for FC Barcelona to complain, is the fact that by announcing March 27 as the new date for the match against CA Osasuna, it would practically be renouncing the presence of Ronald Araujo in the team, at least as a starter.

Why wouldn’t Ronald Araujo arrive in optimal condition for the match against CA Osasuna?

This is because the Uruguayan, called up for this FIFA date in March with the Uruguayan national team, would have very little time to return to Barcelona and adapt under the orders of Hansi Flick for the match against CA Osasuna. The Uruguayan national team has a match against Bolivia on Tuesday, March 25 at 21:00 (Spanish time), with the special 'handicap' of playing in a challenging environment like the Estadio Municipal de El Alto, due to its altitude (4,150 meters above sea level), which tends to be hostile, exhausting, and draining for any visiting player, pushing them to their limits.

How could Ronald Araujo arrive in optimal condition after participating in a match that is expected to be demanding, and then face no less than 12-14 hours of travel to return to Barcelona? Simply, the timing would not allow for him to be counted on as a starter, so it would not be surprising if the German coach has to resort to the duo formed by Pau Cubarsí and Eric García, unless something unexpected happens.

It should be noted that Pau Cubarsí will also be with the national team, but unlike Ronald Araujo, he will not have to undertake a too demanding journey, as his match on March 25 will be in Mestalla (Spain - Netherlands | return leg of the UEFA Nations League quarter-finals). On the other hand, Eric García will arrive in optimal condition in terms of rest, given that he has no pending international commitments.

Barcelona has already played with the Cubarsí-García center-back duo before

So, just as happened recently against UD Las Palmas, we will likely see the center-back duo Cubarsí-Eric García, being supported either by Ronald Araujo (if he arrives on time) or Sergi Domínguez, a youth player who has already had the opportunity to play with the first team. Lastly, although less likely, but not impossible, they could move Jules Koundé to the defense and bet on Héctor Fort as the right-back, another option that is initially more complex to see.