Will FC Barcelona rotate in the match against CA Osasuna? Flick reveals

The FC Barcelona will face this Saturday, March 8 (21:00 h), their match against CA Osasuna, a commitment in which, as we reported in FCBN, it is expected that Hansi Flick will implement some rotations in his starting eleven. This is due to the fact that the match against SL Benfica (0-1), corresponding to the first leg of the round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League 2024-25 held last Wednesday, left more than one Barcelona player completely exhausted.

Therefore, with little recovery time, it has been deemed appropriate to give rest to some of the players of the FC Barcelona. All with the aim of having them as fresh as possible for the next Champions League match against the Portuguese next week.

Hansi Flick will make rotations against CA Osasuna, but...

Specifically, in the pre-match press conference before the clash against CA Osasuna, Hansi Flick made it clear that he will make rotations in his starting eleven, although he did not specify how many there will be. "We have not yet decided how many we will make, but we do need to make them. It is important, but the important thing is to have our best team on the field. We have achieved that and we will do it again tomorrow".

"We have not yet decided how many we will make (rotations), but we do need to make them"

Will Pedri González rotate in the match against the Navarrese?

At the same time, Hansi Flick was asked about a particular player regarding the rotations, Pedri González. The player from Tegueste is currently a key piece in the midfield of FC Barcelona, but he has been one of the players who has rotated the least, participating in almost all matches this season, except in the match of matchday 21 of LaLiga EA Sports against Valencia CF,  where he was absent due to gastroenteritis.

Beyond that small setback that kept him out of the match against Valencia, the '8' has played in all other matches, specifically 40, totaling 3,112 minutes (5 goals and 6 assists). Given this scenario, it seems appropriate for the midfielder to have a rest at some point.

However, Hansi Flick has not confirmed whether it will be in this match or another. "We will see tomorrow, he is a great professional, his behavior is incredible day by day, he recovers well in training. He works at the highest level. It is an incredible level. He gives us a lot of strength in this position and tomorrow we will decide how he feels about playing", he pointed out.

The German coach also analyzed the clash against the 'rojillos'

In addition to the rotations, the German coach took the opportunity to talk about his expectations for the match against CA Osasuna, explaining that he does not expect it to be like in the first round, where FC Barcelona lost 4-2 in Pamplona. "It will be different because we are playing away, there have been many changes. It is important to have the best possible team on the field. Now we are at another level in terms of team performance. I have a positive outlook for tomorrow's match", he added.

Finally, Hansi Flick made it clear that the match will be "hard". He also added that: "when we played there, they pressed us very well and we had problems. Tomorrow will be a different match and we will be prepared".