FC Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick is expected to make bold changes to his starting line up when the Catalans take on Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in the Champions League on Tuesday.
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FC Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick is expected to make bold changes to his starting line up when the Catalans take on Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Barca got back to winning ways after the international break on Saturday, by beating Athletic Club 4-0 in an emotional return to Camp Nou.
Thanks to its eternal rival drawing 2-2 at Elche, Barca managed to cut the deficit to just one point at the La Liga summit, and badly need to make up ground in the Champions League league phase where Flick’s men languish outside the spots which guarantee automatic qualification for the knockout phase without the need to contest a playoff.
Despite the rousing win before 45,000 Culers in the half-finished, part-renovated cathedral of European soccer, Flick will tinker with his line up to take on the Club World Cup winner on its London patch.
Once more, Joan Garcia starts in goal after making a successful return from injury and keeping a clean sheet.
The backline that will protect him looks a little different compared to last time out, however. Ronald Araujo starts in central defence partnered by Pau Cubarsi, while Jules Kounde and Alejandro are the full backs.
This meanst that Flick’s Swiss army knife Eric Garcia has been moved up into the double pivot alongside Frenkie de Jong, in a move that sees a struggling Dani Olmo hit the bench.
It is impossible to drop Fermin Lopez in the form he’s in, meaning he is the CAM against a club he was heavily linked to during the summer.
To his left and right are Ferran Torres and Lamine Yamal, though we should expect minutes for Raphinha and Marcus Rashford out wide at some point.
With four goals in his last two outings, Robert Lewandowski is the central number 9 looking to bolster his Champions League scoring account.
What FC Barcelona coach Flick said
‘They like deep pressure and so do we. But my teams always adapt to the opponent and in every game the strategy is different. Chelsea are a very talented team and Stamford Bridge will be a very good game for us to show that we can compete.’
FC Barcelona vs. Chelsea First XI: Garcia; Balde, Cubarsi, Araujo, Kounde; Eric, De Jong; Ferran, Fermin, Lamine; Lewandowski.