Flick’s ideas to solve Barcelona’s midfield crisis for Champions League clash vs Copenhagen | OneFootball

The final matchday of the UEFA Champions League, scheduled for next week, pits Barcelona in a tough race to secure direct qualification to the knockout stages.

Hansi Flick’s side sit in ninth place after the win over Slavia Prague last night, and are within touching distance of direct qualification.

While a win over FC Copenhagen at the Spotify Camp Nou next week may be enough, winning with a massive goal difference will significantly improve the team’s chances of achieving their objective.

The big hurdle for the manager, however, is the midfield where he will be unable to count on both Pedri and Frenkie de Jong.

After all, the former was injured last night and is ruled out, while the Dutchman is suspended for the game through an accumulation of bookings.

Flick’s options

As furthered by MARCA in a recent report, Flick has some ideas in his mind for the game against Copenhagen.

The centre of his plan is fielding Eric Garcia as one of the pivots, especially with both Pedri and De Jong unavailable.

Pedri is out injured for a month. (Photo by Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images)

Garcia has done well as a defensive midfielder for Barcelona when asked to play in the position this season. He has played as a centre-back in recent games, but situations could force another change in position for the versatile star.

The bigger question lies around who will partner him as the second deep-lying midfielder on the night, and the manager has a few options to pick from.

Marc Bernal and Marc Casado, needless to say, are the most natural replacements who can step into the newly created vacancy.

The latter, however, has seen his prominence under Flick fall, and Bernal may be the better placed of the duo to start on the night. After all, the manager wishes to show the player that he counts on him.

Beyond the two Marc’s, however, Flick also has the option of fielding both Dani Olmo and Fermin Lopez on the night, most likely with the former alongside Garcia and the latter as the No.10. After all, he has gone for that setup on at times this season.