Flick Drops Two Big Stars

FC Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick will tinker with his attack and midfield when the Catalans travel to Anoeta for a La Liga clash against Real Sociedad on Sunday, and drop two big name stars in the process.

Flick currently has his men six points clear at the top of the table which is largely down to big wins such as the 4-0 thrashing of bitter rival Real Madrid in El Clasico a fortnight ago.

At a prematch press conference on Saturday, however, the German didn’t accept that La Real could be easy pickings because of its poor home form as of late.

“Every game is different, the counter is always set to zero,” Flick stressed. “And even more so against Barca. The whole stadium is going to support them, they know how to press.

“For us it is important to have confidence and possession of the ball, to continue with our idea of playing with and without the ball. It’s important to have more possession and create chances and take advantage of them,” Flick added.

There have been two potential injury scares with Dani Olmo and Lamine Yamal missing from the last training session ahead of Flick’s sitdown with the press.

While the former suffered from a bout of gastroenteritis according to ASthe latter worked out in the gym as opposed to taking to the filed at the Joan Gamper CT.

In any case, Olmo is expected to be moved from attacking midfield to the left wing as the 17-year-old is given a rare rest.

The front line is completed by striker Robert Lewandowski and usual left winger Raphinha taking back his right wing berth ceded to Lamine when the La Masia pearl progressed to Xavi Hernandez’s first team last term.

Flick makes further changes in midfield by taking Frenkie de Jong out of the starting line up and rewarding Fermin Lopez for his strong cameo against Red Star Belgrade midweek through a nod alongside Pedri and in front of pivot Marc Casado.

Back in defense, Gerard Martin is out of the fold as Alejandro Balde reclaims his usual left back spot.

Balde is joined by the usual other three men which means Inigo Martinez partners Pau Cubarsi in central defense with the hat trick king of assists in Belgrade, Jules Kounde, at right back helping protect Inaki Pena’s goal.

FC Barcelona Versus Real Sociedad Starting XI: Pity; Bucket, Inigo, Cubarsi, Kounde; Married, Fermin, Pedri; Olmo, Lewandowski, Raphinha