Hansi Flick's 'puzzle' to rotate against Villarreal

Published:21/09/2024 - 18:43h

Updated:22/09/2024 - 04:38h

The demanding schedule of FC Barcelona and the injuries in the Barça squad will 'force' Hansi Flick to rotate in their scheme against Villarreal. The coach has several options on the table, especially thinking about variants for the second half

Hansi Flick has several doubts regarding the formation of the lineup for Villarreal-FC Barcelona on Sunday at El Madrigal (18:30 CEST). In principle, the German coach does not usually rotate much in his teams, but the demanding Barcelona calendar and the absences due to injury, in addition to some doubts after the duel against Monaco, lead the Heidelberg coach to consider several tweaks in the starting XI regarding to the last games.

The coach hopes to have Marc Casadó and Pedri from the start, although both players were left out of Saturday's session as a precaution. Both did a great job in the Principality to fill the gap left by Eric García (expelled) and, with less than 72 hours of rest, they will have another demanding day against the 'yellow submarine'. The '24', beyond his unfortunate performance in the Champions League, should also be in the game as Casadó's companion.

In attack, no adjustment is expected in the starting trident (Lamine-Raphinha-Lewandowski), while in defense there will only be special caution with Pau Cubarsí. The central defender has been playing everything since the summer with Barça and the Spanish National Team (Olympics, U-21) and has been a permanent variant in the complement in the last few days of the League. On Sunday, Flick is likely to stick to the plan used until now.

The players who can benefit from rotations in Villarreal-Barça

In that sense, several players may have more minutes than normal so far on Sunday. One of them could be Sergi Domínguez, who already had half an hour of shooting against Valladolid and has been a fixture in the German coach's calls at the start of the league. The defender would be the first option in terms of center backs, as long as Eric enters the lineup. Another who has counted a lot in defense in Gerard Martín, as a replacement for Alejandro Balde on the left.

Héctor Fort, Pablo Torre and Pau Víctor also hope to regain more prominence in Villarreal. The full-back only made his debut last Sunday in Montilivi, while the Cantabrian has only played a handful of minutes against Valladolid and Monaco. In the case of Víctor, the star striker of the Barça summer has not had much filming either, with 27 minutes spread over four days of the League. The presence of Ferran Torres and Ansu Fati complicates his options to play, but Flick continues to count on him.