Hansi Flick’s dilemma in defense for Barcelona moving forward – Report | OneFootball

For almost the entire first half of the campaign, one of the positions in the FC Barcelona team where Hansi Flick almost never had a decision to make was in central defense. He had only two realistic options and had to play them every game.

Iñigo Martínez and Pau Cubarsí proved to be such an unlikely yet reliable center-back partnership. The two Spaniards are on the opposite ends of their career and yet, they formed a partnership that served the team so well.

The only realistic backup for them was Sergi Domínguez from Barcelona Atlètic who played a role now and then. Eric Garcia was almost exclusively deployed as a midfielder back then, providing cover to Marc Casadó and Pedri.

Now, though, the situation is different. Ronald Araújo is back and has played a string of games and Eric has returned to his favored position and performed quite well. With Iñigo also returning from an injury for the Alavés clash, Hansi Flick has a decision to make.

As per SPORT, Hansi Flick needs to decide on his center-back partnership for the Basque club’s visit to the Olympic Stadium. Having been rested partially against Atalanta, one would have to make a bet that Pau Cubarsí is a lock-in for one of those positions.

That leaves one more position available for Flick with Araújo, Garcia, Iñigo, and Domínguez as the options. It is safe to rule out the latter though considering he has not been in the first-team picture for quite some time now.

Eric has played two successive games as a starter and one would assume it’s his turn to take some rest on the bench. That leaves Araújo and Inigo. Both of them could start against Alavés and it surely is a difficult call for Flick.

One would assume though that Flick might thread on the side of caution and leave Iñigo on the bench for this one. Ronald Araújo and Cubarsí make the most sense as a center-back pairing against Alavés and let’s wait and see how it goes.

The German coach is also determined to have his entire Barcelona squad fit and firing when the decisive phase of the season arrives. His goal is to ensure that every player is physically ready and operating at peak intensity when the major trophies are up for grabs during the final stretch of the season. When the pressure is at its highest, that will be the moment he identifies his trusted core—the ones he will rely on for the biggest games.