Hansi Flick will ring in the changes, while Eric Garcia will be unavailable for Barcelona due to a suspension when they take on BSC Young Boys on Tuesday.
Barcelona will be eager to return to winning ways when they welcome BSC Young Boys to Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys on Tuesday night. And Hansi Flick has a new roster issue hampering his preparations ahead of his side’s latest fixture.
Eric Garcia is unavailable to take on BSC Young Boys due to a suspension after seeing red against AS Monaco on Matchday 1. The Spanish international has joined Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Ronald Araujo, Andreas Christensen, Dani Olmo, Marc Bernal, Fermin Lopez, and Gavi on the sidelines.
During his pre-match press conference, Flick spoke at length about Frenkie de Jong’s impending return from a long-term injury layoff. He said, “Yes, it’s great news to have Frenkie in the team, whether it’s five minutes or ten minutes. It’s very important for us. We have had players injured and after October we will get three players back.”
The Barcelona manager continued, “We are all happy when they come back, and it will be good for Frenkie too to come back, to be there, to be able to be with the youngsters. And if he gets the chance to play, he will. I don’t know if 45, 20 or 10. And it will be good for him, in my opinion. In Frenkie’s case we have to see how the match goes. With Eric’s red card, we lost a midfielder and if we count, we don’t have many players left in this position.”
The Dutch midfielder will not be fit enough to return to the starting lineup yet. However, he should appear off the bench, with Marc Casado, Pedri, and Pablo Torre lining up in a midfield trifecta in the middle of the park. Robert Lewandowski will lead the line for Barcelona, while Lamine Yamal and Raphinha will be the two wide attackers.
As for the defensive unit, Pau Cubarsi will be the only player to retain his spot. The youngster will line up alongside Inigo Martinez, Alejandro Balde, and Jules Kounde in the backline. Finally, Inaki Pena is the automatic pick between the sticks in the absence of Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
Predicted Barcelona XI: Pena; Kounde, Cubarsi, Inigo Martinez, Balde; Casado, Torre, Pedri; Lamal, Lewandowski, Raphinha