Barcelona heavyweight’s place in the starting lineup against Espanyol in doubt | OneFootball

As Barcelona resumed training this week after the Christmas break, the team was blessed with the return of Pedri.

The Spanish international, who missed the game against Villarreal due to injury, was able to return to training alongside Ronald Araujo and Dani Olmo.

Everything suggests Pedri will be available to start the upcoming Catalan derby against Espanyol, much to the detriment of a certain Frenkie de Jong.

De Jong’s starting role in question

As reported by AS, the return of Pedri could serve as a major blow to de Jong’s hopes of starting against Espanyol.

The Dutchman started the game against Villarreal in the absence of Pedri, appearing alongside Eric Garcia in the double-pivot.

De Jong may not start ahead of Garcia in the Barcelona midfield vs Espanyol. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

However, with Pedri now once again available, coach Hansi Flick might return to the old combination of him and Garcia, which has worked wonders so far this season.

Garcia has appeared quite formidable defensively, allowing additional freedom to someone like Pedri who likes to carry the ball around and offer those passes in between the lines.

However, de Jong can hope to retain his place in the starting eleven should Flick feel that the offensive threat posed by Roberto and Kike Garcia warrants Garcia to return to the centre-back position alongside Pau Cubarsi.

Gerard Martin, who has been operating at centre-back lately, may not be the most physically competent centre-back to take on these two physically strong target men.

Therefore, it won’t be surprising to see Garcia starting at centre-back either, in which case, de Jong could operate in a familiar double-pivot role alongside Pedri.

But if Flick looks to return to the old formula, the Dutchman is likely to emerge as a sacrificial lamb this weekend.