Hansi Flick finally settling on his preferred Barcelona backline for this season | OneFootball

Barcelona’s start to the season was marked by constant defensive rotations, but it seems that Hansi Flick has now found a combination that satisfies him, according to MARCA.

For the first time in this campaign, the Catalans have fielded the same backline in three consecutive matches against Girona, Olympiacos, and Real Madrid – three crucial fixtures in Barcelona’s calendar.

In each of the three matches, Flick relied on the defensive line of Jules Kounde, Eric Garcia, Pau Cubarsi, and Alejandro Balde – giving an indication that this could well be his preferred defence for the 2025/26 season.

Since the start of the season, Barcelona had made at least one change in defence for every match. In fact, they had only repeated their back line in the first two La Liga fixtures.

From that point on, Flick had continuously adjusted the defence until the Girona match. Now, the team has played three consecutive games with the same back four.

Constant rotations early in the season

In the first two matches, against Mallorca and Levante, Flick used Eric, Ronald Araujo, Cubarsi, and Balde. That combination was not repeated in any later fixture.

Against Rayo Vallecano, Kounde started at right-back, with Eric moving into central defence alongside Andreas Christensen. The left-back position remained unchanged.

A permanent fixture in Flick’s defence. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

However, Balde’s injury forced Flick to make adjustments against Valencia, fielding the backline of Kounde, Cubarsi, Eric, and Gerard Martin – the same unit that was used against PSG at the beginning of October.

After the match against Valencia, came the first Champions League fixture against Newcastle, where, once again, there were changes at the back.

Kounde, Araujo, Cubarsi, and Martin were the chosen defenders for that match, and the same line-up later featured against Sevilla.

Against Getafe, Real Oviedo, and Real Sociedad, Flick introduced further variations, using three different defensive combinations that were not repeated again.

The return of Balde, however, has brought a certain degree of stability. In the last three matches, Flick has fielded Kounde, Eric, Cubarsi, and the La Masia left-back.

Whether he will continue with the same line-up against Elche remains to be seen, but for now, it appears to be a clear statement of intent.