Barcelona will be eager to overcome a daunting four-goal deficit to secure a spot in the Copa del Rey final when they welcome Atletico Madrid to Spotify Camp Nou for the semi-final second leg on Tuesday night. Hansi Flick has new roster issues to worry about ahead of his side’s latest fixture.
Robert Lewandowski and Eric Garcia are the latest absentees, and the duo will not be available to take on Atletico Madrid. While Garcia will serve a suspension after being sent off in the first leg, Lewandowski has a fracture to his left eye socket.
The veteran Polish striker has joined Andreas Christensen (knee) and Frenkie de Jong (hamstring) in the treatment room. Meanwhile, during his pre-match press conference, Flick provided a fitness update on Lewandowski.
The Barcelona head coach said, “We will have to manage Lewy’s absence. We haven’t had much luck because he turned around and collided with an opponent’s back and then scored. Losing a player like him, and the others who cannot be there, is a problem, but the team handles it well.”
During his presser, Flick also discussed Pedri’s improving fitness and how he manages to ease the young midfielder back into the thick of the action. He said, “We have to manage it. We have many more matches besides this one. We’ll see how many minutes he can play.”
Flick also discussed the possibility of handing a start to Ronald Araujo due to Eric Garcia’s absence. The Barcelona head coach said, “Yes, obviously. We have a team and they’re doing very well defensively. Ronald, too. We’ll see if he starts; I can’t say yet because I haven’t decided on the starting eleven. I know their strengths, but I have to think about it.”
Joan Garcia is an automatic pick between the sticks, with Barcelona lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him against Atletico Madrid on Tuesday. The backline will feature Jules Kounde, Pau Cubarsi, Gerard Martin, and Alejandro Balde.
As for the midfield unit, Pedri will replace Marc Bernal and join Dani Olmo in the double pivot, wiht Fermin Lopez reprising the no. 10 role. Finally, Ferran Torres will lead the line for the home side against Atletico Madrid, with Lamine Yamal and Raphinha being the two wide attackers. So, Marcus Rashford will be among the backup options on the bench for Flick.
Predicted Barcelona XI: Joan Garcia; Kounde, Cubarsi, Martin, Balde; Pedri, Olmo; Yamal, Lopez, Raphinha; Torres
