Hansi Flick has some tough decisions to make ahead of Newcastle vs Barcelona | OneFootball

After three consecutive unconvincing performances in La Liga, Barcelona players responded brilliantly this past weekend by securing a 6-0 win over Valencia at Estadi Johan Cruyff.

What was particularly interesting about the win, however, was that the team achieved the resounding victory without the services of key starters, such as Lamine Yamal, Ajelandro Balde and Frenkie de Jong, while Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski started on the bench.

This was yet another example of Hansi Flick’s merit-based rotation policy, which has attempted to make every player compete for his place in the team.

But this rotation policy could be put to the test when Barcelona take on Newcastle United on Thursday, in their first Champions League game of the new season.

Flick facing many questions

As reported by AS, Hansi Flick has a lot of tough decisions to make, including whether or not to back the players who helped the team secure such a thumping win over Valencia.

Will Flick continue his rotation policy ahead of Newcastle United game? (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)

While Yamal and Balde are set to miss the game due to injuries, de Jong might come back. This raises the question: Should the Dutchman start ahead of Marc Casado, who was a top performer in the last game?

In defence, Ronald Araujo could be pushing for a start as his physical stature could be useful in defending against the threat of Nick Woltemade.

Things get even tougher in the attack, where Raphinha and Lewandowski both scored a brace in the win over Valencia, taking advantage of the opposition’s tired legs.

While it is likely that Raphinha will start, it will be interesting to see if Flick continues with Ferran Torres ahead of Lewandowski in the number nine spot.

It must be noted that Ferran has been the club’s preferred starter in the number nine spot so far this season. But given Lewandowski’s brilliant performance against Valencia, Flick once again has a decision to make.