Joao Cancelo will make his first start since returning to Barcelona when they host Athletic Club at Spotify Camp Nou on Thursday.
Barcelona will aim to keep pace with Real Madrid atop La Liga when they welcome Athletic Club to Spotify Camp Nou on Thursday night. Hansi Flick has received a mixed bag of updates on the team news front ahead of his side’s latest fixture.
Gavi is the latest absentee after sustaining a knee injury in the Catalan club’s La Liga opener against Elche this past weekend. The Spanish international has joined Frenkie de Jong and Roony Bardghji in the treatment room.
However, Rodri may be available to take on Athletic Club after training with the first team this week. Meanwhile, during his pre-match press conference, Flick provided fitness updates on Rodri, Gavi, and Lamine Yamal.
The Barcelona manager said, “The plan is for him [Rodri] to have some minutes against Athletic. Rodri has a lot of experience and he’s a leader and with Pedri in midfield also we have more control of the game, which is what we need. I am looking forward to seeing them play together for Barça.”
“He’s a genius but he [Yamal] has just come back from a break and he’s not yet at 100%. He has to go step by step and against Elche he helped us a lot in the win. He [Gavi] is fine. I think he’s doing much better than he was after the match, and from the footage you can see it wasn’t that serious. I reckon he might need a week.”
Joan Garcia is an automatic pick between the sticks, with Barcelona lining up in the 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him against Athletic Club on Thursday. The backline will feature Jules Kounde, Eric Garcia, Gerard Martin, and Joao Cancelo.
As for the midfield unit, Pedri will replace the injured Gavi, lining up alongside Marc Bernal in the double pivot, with Rodri likely to make an appearance in the second half. Fermin Lopez will reprise the no. 10 role, with Lamine Yamal and Raphinha being the two wide attackers. Finally, Karim Adeyemi will lead the line for the reigning champions, with Anthony Gordon a backup option on the bench.
Predicted Barcelona XI: Joan Garcia; Kounde, Eric Garcia, Martin, Cancelo; Bernal, Pedri; Yamal, Fermin Lopez, Raphinha; Adeyemi
