Should Ronald Araujo start against CD Leganés?

With the official return of Ronald Araujo to FC Barcelona’s call-ups and considering his impeccable current form, the question arises in the air: When will Hansi Flick give the Uruguayan the opportunity to see his first minutes in this 2024-25 season? A fact that, at first glance, does not seem to have a clear answer.

Now, this Sunday, December 15 seems to be an opportune day for this. Why? The FC Barcelona will face CD Leganes at Montjuïc. The ‘cucumber’ team is positioned in the seventeenth place in LaLiga EA Sportswith one of the lowest goal-scoring records in the competition and immersed in an uninspiring dynamic, with three defeats, a draw, and a victory in their last five matches.

Considering that the opponent may be of lesser stature than, for example, Borussia Dortmund, Hansi Flick could choose to give the opportunity to Ronald Araujo instead of Iñigo Martínez or Pau Cubarsiwho have been without rest for a significant amount of time. Particularly notable is the case of the Blaugrana’s ‘2’, who has not been a substitute throughout the season, participating in all 23 matches that Barcelona has played (1865 minutes out of a total of 2070 possible). Although the Basque player has also had a stellar involvement, being the player with the most minutes so far this season with Barça (1956 out of 2070 possible), it is necessary for one of them to rest, and what better moment than with a defender of the quality of the ‘4’ Uruguayan?