FC Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick will change his midfield compared to last time out, when the champions host Atletico Madrid in a mouthwatering Camp Nou clash at the La Liga summit on Tuesday.
Getty Images
FC Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick will change his midfield compared to last time out, when the champions host Atletico Madrid in a mouthwatering Camp Nou clash at the La Liga summit on Tuesday.
The two rivals put on a number of great battles in the league and Copa del Rey semifinals last season, with Barca going on two win both trophies in question plus the Spanish Super Cup at their shared nemesis Real Madrid’s expense.
Flick has been reminded that Barca have the same amount of points (34) after the same amount of matchdays (14) in the Spanish top flight this season compared to last.
But it still felt that the Catalans aren’t performing at their best with plenty of defeats in big matches to the likes of Los Blancos, Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea.
They have a chance to put that elite level record in the campaign right by getting the best of Diego Simeone’s men at home midweek, in a fixture that has been brought forward because of both outfits’ participation in the Spanish Super Cup.
That won’t be an easy task given Barca didn’t manage to beat Atleti in Montjuic last season, and that the club from the capital is currently on a hot six-game winning streak.
In reaction to going a goal behind to Alaves after a minute on Saturday, and struggling in other parts of the eventual 3-1 win, Flick will make drastic changes to his midfield as a first port of call.
FC Barcelona’s center of the park will look much different
This means that Marc Casado and Marc Bernal are out, while Frenkie de Jong returns to the fold partnered by Pedri behind the goalscorer of a brace in his last appearance, Dani Olmo.
The attacking trident is Flick’s best, meaning that Lamine Yamal, Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha are beginning to string appearances together following their various individual knocks that have prevented regularity in unison.
With Joan Garcia the goalkeeper, an impressive Gerard Martin remains a center back to partner Pau Cubarsi.
As for the full backs, they are Alejandro Balde to the left and Eric Garcia to the right.
FC Barcelona line up versus Atletico Madrid: Garcia; Balde, Martin, Cubarsi, Eric; De Jong, Pedri, Olmo; Raphinha, Lewandowski, Lamine.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomsanderson/2025/12/02/fc-barcelona-versus-atletico-madrid-la-liga-lineup/
