Three talking points as Barcelona prepare to face Athletic Club in the Spanish Super Cup | OneFootball

FC Barcelona have travelled to Saudi Arabia to take part in the Spanish Super Cup, which gives them the chance to lift their first trophy of the season. The Catalan club is on a good run in La Liga and will first face Athletic Club in the semi-final.

The Basque club is not having the best of seasons, but under Ernesto Valverde, they have what it takes to beat Hansi Flick’s team. Should Barcelona get over the line, one of Real Madrid or Atletico Madrid awaits them in the final.

Flick has a strong track record of winning trophies wherever he has managed. Last season, the Spanish Super Cup proved to be a turning point for Barcelona, and it could be more of the same this time around.

With all this in mind, here are three talking points for Barcelona as they prepare to face Athletic Club in the Spanish Super Cup.

1: Joan ahead of MATS and Szczesny

There is absolutely no doubt that Joan García is the no. 1 goalkeeper for Barcelona, and he further underlined this against his former side, Espanyol, last weekend with a goalkeeping masterclass for the ages.

However, teams in the past generally tended to rotate their starting goalkeeper in the Spanish Super Cup and Copa del Rey, and Hansi Flick himself chose to start Wojciech Szczesny ahead of the then-no 1, Inaki Pena, last season.

It proved to be a pivotal decision that affected the rest of the campaign. This opened the door for either the Pole or the club captain, Marc-Andre ter Stegen, to feature in the two games in Jeddah. However, Flick has put those thoughts to bed by confirming the Spaniard as the starting goalkeeper.

For a back line as frail as Barcelona’s, having a superhuman goalkeeper could be essential against the top Spanish sides. This would also be Joan’s chance to win his first career trophy, and it bodes well that he is the chosen one.

2: Raphinha’s role

Much has been said about the role Hansi Flick has given Raphinha in recent games. The German manager has used him as a no. 10 ahead of Fermin Lopez and in the absence of Dani Olmo, but it has not worked out as expected.

Now, with Olmo back in the mix and looking quite good in his cameo against Espanyol, Flick could choose to put Raphinha back on the left wing and go with either Fermin or Olmo as the no. 10 against Athletic Club.

By putting the Brazilian through the middle, the team tends to sacrifice and lose Raphinha’s explosive running power. Injuries permitting, it is about time Barcelona returned to the recipe that served them so well last season.

Raphinha on the left, Lamine on the right, and one of Olmo or Fermin through the middle could form an excellent attacking force for Barcelona, and let us hope it starts against Athletic Club.

3: Barcelona midfield conundrum

After the Espanyol game, Hansi Flick has a very familiar headache that will again be on his mind when he names his line-up for the Athletic clash: who is going to be Pedri’s midfield partner?

Eric Garcia has started the past few games in midfield but shifted back to central defence in the second half against Espanyol, allowing Frenkie de Jong and Pedri to play as a partnership at the base of midfield.

The duo plays very well together as a pair, and Eric looked very good as a central defender. That would, however, mean sacrificing Gerard Martín, who has performed exceedingly well in the opportunities he has received recently.

It remains to be seen how Flick solves this conundrum and whether he finds a way to include both Frenkie and Pedri in the XI. This could prove to be a pivotal decision in giving Barcelona control, and let us wait and see how things play out.