Frenkie de Jong points to Barça's XI in the derby against Espanyol

Frenkie de Jong points to FC Barcelona's XI in the first Catalan derby of the season against Espanyol. The midfielder gained some experience against Young Boys, Alavés and Bayern Munich before shining in the Clásico against Real Madrid, where he had an impeccable second half.

The Dutch international came on for Fermín López after the break and gave more solidity to the Barça midfield, collaborating with Marc Casadó in the recovery, in addition to organizing the start of a team that was absolutely superior and forceful in the final 45 minutes.

In principle, the logic is to remove Fermín, who started against Bayern and Madrid, to put De Jong in from the start. This adjustment gives Pedri González more freedom in creative tasks, bringing him closer to an offensive trident that, at this moment, seems untouchable (Lamine, Raphinha and Lewandowski).

Frenkie, ready to regain prominence at Barça

In that sense, Arkel's man seems ready to return to the XI after his great second half against Madrid. Frenkie has not entered a Barça lineup, precisely, since the Clásico played in April at the Santiago Bernabéu (merengue's 3-2 victory), a match where he only managed to play the first half.

The midfielder suffered a sprain to his right ankle after a collision with Fede Valverde that not only left him out of the Euro Cup, but also prevented him from doing the preseason with Barça. In total, the 27-year-old footballer was injured for almost six months.

The '21' seems to have completely overcome the discomfort in the area and, although Flick and the culé technical staff will take him with extreme care, the Catalan derby looks like an ideal scenario for De Jong to gain more filming and regain the prominence that, for his hierarchy, he must have in the Barcelona scheme.

Barça's calendar gives room for rotations next week

After concluding the Catalan derby, the culés must visit Red Star for the fourth day of the Champions League phase. Barça comes from beating Young Boys and Bayern Munich, but needs to continue adding victories to position itself among the top eight and ensure its direct pass to the round of 16.

After the visit to Belgrade on Wednesday, the Barça team will go to San Sebastián on Sunday against an always complicated Real Sociedad. Imanol Alguacil's men are not experiencing their best moment, but they are a careful rival for a Barça that, right after, will lose its internationals again for the FIFA date in November.

In that sense, the week seems ideal for Flick to make some rotations, since players like Dani Olmo, Gavi and Frenkie de Jong himself need quality minutes to regain their competitive rhythm. Another who hopes to finally reappear next week is Eric García, assuming that, due to his absence in training on Wednesday and Thursday, he will not be on Sunday against Espanyol.