Barcelona rotated heavily against Osasuna and paid the price with a 4-2 defeat on Saturday night, and having been defeated in Matchday One in the Champions League by AS Monaco, Hansi Flick will be desperate for three points against Young Boys. The Swiss side are struggling domestically, and will have a free hit against the Blaugrana.
The big news coming into the game is that Frenkie de Jong has been passed fit, five and a half months after his ankle injury in April, but naturally he is expected only to see a few minutes of action. Eric Garcia is the only addition to their injury list, but for suspension. That list still contains Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Ronald Araujo, Andreas Christensen, Gavi, Marc Bernal, Fermin Lopez and Dani Olmo.
According to MD, Raphinha, Lamine Yamal, Marc Casado, Alejandro Balde and Inigo Martinez will all return to the line-up after being rested at the weekend, but there will be no respite for Jules Kounde, who has played every minute of the season. Ferran Torres is tipped to get the nod over of Pablo Torre too.
#FCBarcelona's home clash with Young Boys is already being dubbed as 'must-win' for the Blaugrana after defeat to Monaco on Matchday One, and Bayern on the way.
Inigo Martinez, Alex Balde, Lamine Yamal and Raphinha are all expected back, while Frenkie de Jong is on the bench. pic.twitter.com/76wM1JTcbv
— Football España (@footballespana_) October 1, 2024
Meanwhile Sport are in total agreement on the line-up for the Catalans. The Swiss side, managed by Patrick Rahmen, are without Saidy Janko and Patric Pfeiffer through injury, but are struggling at the start of the season. The champions last year, they currently sit second-bottom domestically.
The only alteration debated by the papers for the visitors is whether Darian Males or Ebrima Colley start on the right side of their 4-2-3-1 formation.
Another major question for Barcelona will be whether Ansu Fati sees minutes at Montjuic. After getting game time against Monaco in the final few minutes, Flick has left him out against Villarreal, Getafe and Osasuna.
