Barcelona captain set to be benched in favour of academy gem vs Atletico Madrid | OneFootball

After securing a comfortable progression through to the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals with a win against Benfica, Hansi Flick’s Barcelona will now turn their focus to a decisive La Liga match vs. Atletico Madrid this Sunday.

The Blaugrana are set to square off against Los Rojiblancos two times in two weeks – first in the league this weekend and then in the Copa del Rey semi-final second leg on April 2.

Major change incoming

Now, according to SPORT, Barcelona manager Flick is set to make a major change to the starting lineup for Sunday’s La Liga encounter against Atletico Madrid.

Barring any surprises, the German tactician appears set to bench captain and key defender Ronald Araujo in favour of teenage prodigy Pau Cubarsi.

Cubarsi in for Araujo for Barça against Atleti. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

The defensive partnership of Cubarsi and Inigo Martinez has excelled for Barça this season and has been Flick’s preferred combination even after Araujo’s return from injury.

However, against Benfica, the manager had to make do without Cubarsi, who was suspended after a red card in the first leg, replacing him with Araujo.

The Uruguayan international delivered a solid all-round display, even looking comfortable with Flick’s offside-trap tactics.

But with the huge game against Atletico coming up on Sunday, the Barcelona head coach is expected to revert to his first-choice centre-back pairing of Cubarsi and Martinez, who signed a new contract with the club earlier this week.

Pairing the Spanish duo in the backline will be Jules Kounde and Inigo Martinez as the full-backs on the right and left sides, respectively.