Barcelona boss Hansi Flick faces urgent selection dilemmas before Valencia clash | OneFootball

It is only a matter of days till FC Barcelona return to action as the current international break is nearing its conclusion. The Blaugranes will restart action with a game against Valencia, which has been shrouded in doubts for quite some time, mainly because of the uncertainty of the venue where it will be played.

Meanwhile, Hansi Flick will also have some doubts about the team that he picks for this game, keeping in view the physical problems suffered by some important players in the last few days, and also the great competition for some of the starting eleven spots.

Mundo Deportivo has highlighted five such areas of the team where doubts persist.

Center-back pairing

After having started Pau Cubarsi and Ronald Araujo as his center-backs in the first two games of the season, Flick opted to change this setup for the third game as he started Andreas Christensen and Eric Garcia in the heart of the defense.

The Dane has had quite a good international break, and it remains to be seen which center-back options the coach will pick for the upcoming game.

Left-back

The injury suffered by Alejandro Balde will force Flick to make a change for this position. Gerard Martin is likely to start in Balde’s absence, but the youngster Joffre Torrents would also be in the running for minutes on the pitch.

Pivot

Frenkie de Jong also did not return from his national team camp in the best physical state, and the German coach is likely to start Marc Casado along with Pedri as the doubt-pivot for this game. Marc Bernal would still need some competitive rhythm, but Fermin Lopez could also be an option.

Attacking midfielder

Hansi Flick has used three different attacking midfielders in all three opening games of the season, i.e., Fermin Lopez, Raphinha, and Dani Olmo. Gavi is unavailable due to injury, and Raphinha accumulated a lot of traveling and playing fatigue during the international break, so it remains to be seen who ends up starting as CAM against Valencia.

Center-forward

Ferran Torres has been starting as the center-forward for Hansi Flick lately, and he maintained a good form during the break with Spain.

However, Robert Lewandowski, who is an actual and natural center-forward, also showed his goalscoring abilities in the break, and the Barcelona coach will have to make a decision for this position.

Hopefully, Hansi Flick will be able to pick his strongest starting eleven to get the full three points in what could be the first official home game of the season for FC Barcelona.