Hansi Flick could use Frenkie de Jong absence to trial new Barcelona tactical setup – Analysis | OneFootball

FC Barcelona suffered a cruel blow when it emerged that Frenkie de Jong was ruled out for around five to six weeks after a hamstring injury sustained in training.

The timing matters: Barcelona host Villarreal and Atletico Madrid and then face Newcastle in the Champions League last 16.

Flick’s short-term problem is obvious: replacing De Jong’s ball-carrying and progression. The more interesting angle is the tactical opportunity that it offers.

The key to this proposed tactical setup is Eric Garcia. Barcelona can use the Spaniard not just “in midfield”, but as a specific type of midfielder: a defensive midfielder who drops into the backline to create a situational back three, freeing the full-backs to play aggressively and moving the wingers closer to goal.

This is not a random theory. Barcelona themselves have highlighted Eric’s ability to play as a centre-back, right-back, and defensive midfielder, and have described him as an important, versatile piece for Flick this season.

The base: 4-2-3-1 on paper

The base formation will still be a 4-2-3-1.

Back four: Cancelo (RB), Kounde (RCB), Cubarsi (LCB), Balde (LB)

Double pivot: Eric, Pedri

Front four: Lamine (RW), Olmo/Bernal (CAM), Raphinha (LW), Lewandowski (ST)

But the point isn’t the team sheet. It’s what happens in the two big phases below.

With the ball: 3-4 build-up, full-backs high, wingers inside

The key move: Eric drops to form a back three

In possession, Eric starts near the pivot line, then drops between the center-backs, forming a functional back three that looks like this:

Right CB: Kounde, who can play as an outside-center-back, due to his knowledge of playing as a right-back.

Central CB: Eric, dropping into the line but slightly ahead of the duo, almost as a stopper.

Left CB: Cubarsi

Both Eric and Cubarsi are extremely comfortable on the ball and can act as the source of build-up. Even if oppositions line up with a front 2, Barcelona will always have an extra man in central defence, which gives them an initial advantage.

The full-backs become the width

Once the back-three is established, the full-backs can push high at the same time. The necessity for attacking full-backs also allows us to play both Cancelo and Balde together.

Having Balde and Cancelo high and wide, and the left and right respectively, gives the team a benefit: it allows them to have width with players who are comfortable on the ball without forcing wingers to stay close to the touchline.

The front line becomes closer to the goal

If the full-backs are providing width, Lamine and Raphinha can drift inside into half-spaces and closer-to-box positions, more like inside forwards than touchline wingers.

So the attacking shape often resembles a 3-2-5 or a 3-4-3, depending on where the second pivot stands:

Out of possession: back four again, but with clearer rest-defense logic

Here’s the important part: the same personnel can defend in a more traditional way.

The Eric/ Cancelo flexibility:

When Barca lose the ball or settle into mid-block, Eric can step out of the backline into midfield, allowing the team to look like a standard back four again. Alternatively, Eric can remain in the backline, Kounde can move to right-back, and Cancelo can invert into-midfield.

That matters because it avoids permanently defending as a back three, which can expose wide zones if your wing-backs are high and late to recover, and it is not something Barcelona are used to.

The rest-defense is “3+2” behind the ball:

The structure you want when attacking is a stable platform behind the ball. In this setup, your rest-defence can be the 3 at the back with Kounde, Eric, and Cubarsi, with two midfielders screening with Pedri and Olmo/Bernal.

The “3+2” at the back is a strong counter-press base because it deals with direct counter-attacks through the middle and has the bodies at the back to win the second ball after clearances.

Why this tactical setup completely fits Eric Garcia:

Eric’s value here isn’t “he can fill in for Frenkie.” He can’t replicate De Jong’s carrying profile. The value is that he can change the geometry of the team.

Eric is a beacon of versatility and has the ability to play in multiple positions. This system uses that ability of him to occupy different positions, even during a game, based on its state.

The right-side detail: Cancelo + Lamine

This is where the setup gets genuinely flexible. If Cancelo is high on the right, you can create a rotation where Cancelo stays wide, Lamine comes inside or Lamine holds width, Cancelo moves into the right half-space.

This “shared width” concept matters because it stops Barça from being predictable. The opponent can’t just lock one player to the touchline and one inside; they have to defend the space.

Both players are innately intelligent, and this allows such a tactical setup where both players can operate in both capacities.

The left-side detail: Raphinha inside, Balde outside

On the left, the profile fit is straightforward and doesn’t demand flexibility. Balde out wide and Raphinha inside is pretty much what Barcelona operate with even now, and nothing is going to change in this regard.

It’s also a clean way to avoid having both players occupy the same lane. If Raphinha stays wide and Balde overlaps, you can become easy to trap. If Balde owns the outside lane from the start, Raphinha can live in the half-space earlier.

Could this improve the counter-press?

Having Lamine and Raphinha in inside half-spaces earlier than usual also allows for a better counter-press when Barcelona lose the ball.

The latter is arguably Barcelona’s best option, in this regard, and Flick could go back to a pressing structure that he used a lot at the beginning of his tenure at the club.

Raphinha and Lamine can be used to press the centre-backs, which allows Lewandowski to drop slightly deeper and use his physicality to win the ball in the air.

The presence of Balde and Cancelo on the flanks allows Flick the flexibility to try this out.

Pros and cons of this tactical system

Pros:

The biggest upside is build-up stability: by letting Eric drop into the backline and sliding Kounde inside, Barcelona can form a situational back three that gives clearer spacing and an extra outlet, which reduces the need for a single midfielder to carry the ball through pressure every time.

It also helps the attack because Balde and Cancelo can provide the width high up the pitch, allowing Lamine and Raphinha to drift inside and receive closer to goal, with the No.10 supported rather than isolated.

On top of that, the structure can improve the team’s “rest-defence” and counter-pressing shape, because a 3+2 base behind the ball (three defenders plus two midfield screeners) is generally harder to counter through if the distances and coverage are correct.

Cons:

The main risk is what happens the moment the counter-press fails, because if both full-backs are high, opponents can immediately attack the space behind Balde and Cancelo into the wide channels. A second concern is that the system asks Eric to win or at least delay key midfield duels when he steps out of the line, and if he arrives late or gets bypassed, the whole structure can open up quickly in central transition moments.

There’s also a specific right-side vulnerability when Kounde moves inside as an outside centre-back, because if Barca lose the ball with the right flank exposed and the recovery routes aren’t coordinated by the nearest pivot and winger, opponents can isolate that channel before the shape resets. This system also requires too many players to change these tactical instructions based on the game-state and this could lead to some confusion.

Why this is realistic now

With De Jong out for weeks, there is a practical reason to trial a structure that reduces the demand for a single “carry-and-fix-everything” midfielder.

Barcelona’s squad list for Villarreal includes the exact pieces this mechanism needs: Eric, Kounde, Cubarsi, Balde, Cancelo, Lamine, Raphinha, plus midfield options to partner Pedri.

The Newcastle ties also add urgency: the team can’t just “patch” the midfield; it needs a repeatable way to build, defend transitions, and keep its best attackers closer to the box.

This setup is less about turning Barça into a permanent back-three team and more about using Eric García as a structural tool.

If Flick wants to keep the attack aggressive while De Jong is out, this is one of the cleanest ways to do it, because it changes the team’s spacing without requiring a like-for-like replacement. Let’s wait and see if Flick considers this as an option in the coming weeks.