FC Barcelona vs Real Sociedad: A golden opportunity for Gerard Martín

FC Barcelona faces Real Sociedad this Sunday for matchday 26 of LaLiga (16:15 CEST), a crucial match to maintain the lead in the tournament that comes just three days before the first leg of the round of 16 in the UEFA Champions League against Benfica. Anticipating the fatigue that the trip to Lisbon represents, Hansi Flick anticipated rotations in the press conference prior to the match against a San Sebastián team that will also have European competition this week.

Although the coach did not give hints about the players who will rest on Sunday, one of the players likely to stay on the bench is Alejandro Balde. The '3' played all 90 minutes in the last three league matches and the first leg of the 'semis' of the Copa del Rey against Atlético de Madrid (4-4), which opens the door for Gerard Martín to be included in the lineup, as he has played very little in recent weeks.

The 23-year-old defender last started in matchday 15 against Las Palmas (1-2), a game in which he played 64 minutes. A week earlier, he was also in the XI against Celta (2-2), but he was substituted at halftime due to being booked practically from the start. After that, he only accumulated residual minutes against Valencia (7-1), Alavés (1-0), Sevilla (1-4), and Las Palmas (0-2). In the Cup, he was a starter against Barbastro (0-4) and Betis (5-1), while against Valencia (0-5) he played the second half.

Gerard Martín, facing one of his last opportunities of the season?

In this way, Martín has barely accumulated 837 minutes of action in the 24/25 season, spread over 23 appearances in which he has provided a couple of assists, against Brest (3-0 in Champions) and Osasuna (loss 4-2 in LaLiga). In the first half of the season, he had several difficult matches in LaLiga (one of them in Pamplona), while in Europe he left better impressions against Brest and Red Star (2-5). However, in 2025, his appearances have significantly decreased.

In this sense, the match against Real Sociedad presents a golden opportunity for Gerard, one of the players likely to leave next summer, as long as the club decides to bring in another player for a position where there is total confidence in Alejandro Balde. The '3' has accumulated 2,637 minutes of play in 34 matches, with 1 goal and 6 assists, but the debate about the need to bring in another player capable of competing for the position remains open.