Flick Makes Several Line Up Changes

FC Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick will tinker with his starting line up when the Catalans host Sevilla in La Liga at the Montjuic Stadium on Sunday.

Barca is less than a week out from El Clasico against bitter rivals Real Madrid, and goes into this clash in question level on points at the top after Carlo Ancelotti’s men beat a game Celta Vigo 2-1 on Saturday night.

At his prematch press conference on Saturday, Flick confirmed that he will be able to boast a trio of players returning from injury.

“I can confirm that Gavi, [Dani] Olmo and Fermin [Lopez] have recovered to play,” Flick stated.

“Gavi’s case is very special and I can say that he will be on the bench. Fermin is doing well and may play a few minutes. Dani has improved, he will be on the bench and we will possibly focus on Wednesday [against Bayern Munich].”

Speaking more about Gavi, Flick pointed out how “in midfield we have a lot of players who can play in various positions”.

“It’s something I love, but Gavi, because of his mentality and how he channels his aggressiveness and plays with the ball, he can play as a 6, an 8… I have spoken to him about his position and more specifically these two positions,” Flick revealed.

As indicated, though, none of the mentioned three men will start, with Flick instead going for a midfield three which has Eric Garcia as the pivot providing support behind Pedri and Marc Casado.

Up top, with Ferran Torres injured, Raphinha takes back his usual berth on the left wing while Lamine Yamal, who was previously announced as having a hamstring “overload”, mans the right channel on the other side of Spain’s current top scorer Robert Lewandowski.

At the other end of the pitch, Inaki Pena will be the starting goalkeeper for both tonight’s match and a Wednesday evening encounter with Flick’s former employers Bayern Munich in the Champions League.

On the back line, it is Alejandro Balde, Inigo Martinez, Pau Cubarsi and Jules Kounde from left to right.

FC Barcelona Versus Sevilla Starting XI: Pena; Balde, Inigo, Cubarsi, Kounde; Eric, Pedri, Casado; Raphinha, Lewandowski, Lamine