Barça's European Finale: Flick's Depleted Squad Hosts Copenhagen
Barcelona face Copenhagen in their final Champions League group stage match with several key players missing, including the suspended De Jong and injured Pedri.
Barcelona welcome Copenhagen to the Spotify Camp Nou on Wednesday night in their final Champions League group stage fixture of this opening phase.
Injury Crisis Deepens for Flick
The Catalan giants head into this one with their treatment room looking more packed than the Northern Line at rush hour. Hansi Flick’s squad has been properly decimated with Pedri, Gavi and Christensen all confirmed absentees through injury.
Frenkie de Jong adds to Flick’s headache as the Dutchman serves a one-match suspension after picking up his third yellow card against Slavia Prague. Talk about bad timing!
There’s a glimmer of hope with Ferran Torres, who returned to training with the group on Tuesday, but his availability remains touch and go.
Tactical Reshuffle
With his midfield options limited, Flick might be forced to get creative with his formation. The German tactician could deploy Eric García as a pivot with Dani Olmo and Fermín López operating as interior midfielders.
João Cancelo, Barça’s lone January reinforcement, remains unavailable for Champions League duties as he wasn’t registered for the competition. Bit of a mare, that.
Copenhagen’s Absentees
The Danish side aren’t without their own problems. They’ll be missing:
- Magnus Mattsson and Huescas through injury
- Thomas Delaney through suspension
- Liam West also unavailable
Expected Line-ups
Barcelona (probable): Joan García, Koundé, Cubarsí, Gerard Martín, Balde; Fermín, Eric García, Olmo; Lamine, Raphinha and Lewandowski.
Copenhagen (probable): Kotarski, Meling, Suzuki, Gabriel, Marcos López; Elyouroussi, Clem, Madsen, Achouri; Dadason and Cornesius.
With kick-off set for 9pm local time, Barça will be looking to end this first phase of European competition on a high despite their selection woes. The Camp Nou faithful will expect nothing less than three points against the Danish visitors, even with half the team in the physio’s room.