Important setback in Barcelona training

FC Barcelona

Hansi Flick's plan for the Martínez Valero points to a midfield still affected by the physical rhythms of several players. Marc Bernal starts with an advantage to play as the pivot after a pre-season in which he has gained weight within the squad.

Gavi also appears as an option for that role, although his involvement in the Trofeo Joan Gamper was limited and he is not expected to start. The Andalusian and Pedri have been gradually integrating into the first-team dynamic during the World Cup, so everything suggests they could begin on the bench.

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Rodrigo Hernández
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The big absence from the training session held at the Ciutat Esportiva was Rodri. Barcelona's star signing, FC Barcelona, followed an individualized plan after arriving at the blaugrana club and worked separately to improve his physical condition.

The midfielder stayed in the gym, a sign that makes an immediate debut more complicated. Even so, it is not ruled out that he could make the list with the aim of integrating with the group, although he would have no real options to play minutes against Elche.

Flick shapes the midfield and the squad

The German coach could repeat the midfield setup used in the Gamper, with Bernal, Xavi Espart and Fermín López. The battle for those spots also includes Dani Olmo, who has been growing in influence little by little and has already left good impressions in his pre-match preparations.

Espart took part in the session alongside other young players who are in the mix for the squad: Álvaro Cortés, Hamza Abdelkarim, Jordi Pesquer and Eder Aller, the third-choice goalkeeper. The list will also have the novelty of Joao Cancelo, registered this Saturday and ready to make his debut in a squad this season.

The blaugrana club has met its goal of registering all the signings and the renewed Christensen before the league opener. Only the case of the young Jesse Bisiwu remains pending, delayed by a bureaucratic matter.

The party will travel to Elche this Sunday and, before departure, Flick will announce a squad in which the desired centre-forward will still be missing, with Julián Álvarez almost ruled out and Lautaro Martínez as the main alternative.