Hansi Flick’s options to replace Gavi in Barcelona vs Valencia – Report | OneFootball

FC Barcelona are set to face Valencia in their upcoming Copa del Rey quarter-finals, which is scheduled to be played at the Mestalla.

The Catalans recently beat their upcoming hosts at the Montjuic only a few days ago in La Liga, with a comprehensive 7-1 scoreline.

In that game, the midfielder Gavi was unable to participate, as he remained an unused substitute for Hansi Flick.

He will once again not be able to step on the pitch in the upcoming Cup game as well, as he suffered from a serious head collision with an opposition player when Barcelona faced Alaves on Sunday. Flick has already ruled him out for the upcoming game at Mestalla.

This clash was quite serious and left both the involved players unable to continue playing. Furthermore, they both were taken to the hospital to undertake more detailed tests and fortunately, neither of them had to face very serious consequences for this unfortunate incident.

In such a context, Mundo Deportivo has identified several players who will be available for Flick to replace the 20-year-old La Masia graduate in the team.

Dani Olmo has been a regular starter for the Barcelona coach in the attacking midfielder role whenever he has been available. However, he has only returned from a soleus injury, and thus, will not be able to start the game against Valencia. Still, he might come on for the second half to regain some of his lost rhythm.

Thus, the most likely option to play as an attacking midfielder in the absence of these two players will be Fermin Lopez, who was also the option preferred by the Barcelona coach to replace Gavi after his collision in the game against Alaves.

His recent performance against Valencia, in which he scored two goals and created another two, will also make him the favorite to start this upcoming quarter-final.

Meanwhile, Pablo Torre will be another option in Flick’s pack to replace Gavi, and both Pedri and Frenkie de Jong can also be used in this position. Raphinha could have been another option for this role, but with Flick expected to rest Lewandowski in this game, this is not likely to materialize in this game.