Flick has made his decision on who will start in Barcelona midfield vs Athletic Club

With Pedri Gonzalez fully fit and ready to start Barcelona’s game against Athletic Club later tonight, there was a sense of uncertainty around Frenkie de Jong’s place in the starting lineup.

After all, the Dutchman only started the team’s recent games out of forced circumstances and had been swapped out for Eric Garcia in the team’s games prior to that.

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Now, however, Mundo Deportivo brings to light a tactical piece of information that reveals a lot about what Hansi Flick has in mind for tonight’s clash – and De Jong appears set to start.

An internal rotation

As reported by the Spanish outlet, the manager has decided that Gerard Martin will not start as Barcelona’s centre-back against Ernesto Valverde’s side. Instead, it will be Eric Garcia who starts alongside Pau Cubarsi.

The midfield, thus, sees a void created and De Jong will start in the same, partnering Pedri in the double pivot.

De Jong to start alongside Pedri in midfield? (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)

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The Frenkie de Jong-Pedri pivot has done largely well this season and was the manager’s go-to midfield combination at the beginning of the season.

The duo excelled in a technical sense and were unplayable through the middle, given their superiority in possession.

Notably, both Pedri and De Jong were unavailable when Barcelona last faced Athletic Club. It was the night when the team played their first game back at Spotify Camp Nou, and the Dutchman was suspended while the Canary Islander was injured.

Considering that Barcelona dominated the Basque midfield at the time with a midfield pivot of Dani Olmo and Eric Garcia, one would expect tonight’s combination to dominate on a whole new level.

The big question of removing Garcia from midfield, however, revolves around the reduction in defensive cover, and it remains to be seen how Flick addresses that concern.