Hansi Flick reveals which forward will start for Barcelona against Sevilla | OneFootball

Squad rotation is something that has been valued a lot at FC Barcelona this season. For the Catalan giants, competing across every single available competition has required them to make changes every now and then. Fortunately, even the riskier ones have seemingly paid off for Barcelona coach Hansi Flick.

However, that does not mean that rotations are always a necessity or a requirement. Whenever a string of two or more important games come around, it is completely normal to see Barcelona make use of their strongest possible line-up recurrently.

Yet, the results and statistics do not lie when it comes to suggesting which starting eleven is the most effective. In recent weeks, interestingly, the most impactful starting eleven that Hansi Flick has fielded typically does not involve Polish ace Robert Lewandowski.

Instead, it has either been Ferran Torres or Dani Olmo who takes that credit whenever they have played as a part of Flick’s experimental ‘False 9’ formation. However, ahead of the game against Sevilla in La Liga, the German coach has given his final answer regarding which player will start.

As highlighted by Mundo Deportivo, it turns out that the starting forward for the game against Sevilla in La Liga will not be the in-form Spanish forward after all:

“Robert (Lewandowski) will be a starter. That’s all I can say.”

However, that did not mean that the Barcelona coach would leave the 24-year-old Ferran Torres without praise. Instead, he even suggested that the Spaniard was a very important player for the team:

“It’s very important for Ferran, he had some tough weeks with his injury. He has confidence to play in this position (as a ‘nine’), but there are other positions where he can play. He is very important for us.”

At the same time, however, Flick reiterated the need to have rotations and to make use of fresh legs as much as possible. Moreover, he highlighted the quality of the depth in this Barça team, and how the morale and feelings around the squad are positive as well:

“What is very important is that now we have many players whose performances are very similar. Everyone has been very good from the start, but now there aren’t just eleven or twelve. This gives us many options, opportunities to control the game. Each player is focused and convinced that we can select them, with fresh legs.”

With Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid set to face off against each other next in La Liga, the Sevilla game is a great opportunity that Barcelona cannot afford to let slip. A win is the only result that will mean something, and Hansi Flick is fully aware of that.