€50 million-rated Barcelona youngster should start against Inter Milan at the San Siro — Opinion | OneFootball

Although FC Barcelona’s victory over Real Valladolid last night was anything but convincing, at the end of the night, it was the three points that mattered. Flick also managed to rest a few of his key starters (albeit partially) and still didn’t lose initiative in the La Liga race.

Coming up on Tuesday is arguably Barcelona’s biggest game in the past 10 years, with Hansi Flick’s men having the glorious opportunity of beating Inter Milan and progressing to the Champions League final for the first time since 2015.

The first leg at the Montjuic stadium ended in a 3-3 draw, with the two teams playing an extremely entertaining game, and Hansi Flick will know that he needs to get his team selection spot on against the Italian side to ensure they manage to progress to the finals.

Both Balde and Kounde are expected to miss the Barcelona vs Inter Milan game. (Photo by Denis Doyle/Getty Images)

Injury crisis

If there was one position in the Barcelona team that Hansi Flick could not afford an injury in, it was the full-back regions, and going into the biggest game of the season, the German coach will not have his first-choice options available at both right-back and left-back.

Alejandro Balde has been out since the Leganes game, and Jules Kounde picked up an injury against Inter in the first leg, effectively ruling out the duo from their trip to the San Siro. In their absence, Flick has decisions to make.

In the first leg, Flick lined up with Kounde at right-back and Gerard Martin at left-back, with Eric Garcia replacing the Frenchman after his injury. In the second leg, one might see Garcia retain his right-back spot, and Inigo Martinez replace Gerard in the left-back region

Apart from the defense, the team almost picks itself considering the available options. So far this season, whenever everyone has been fit, Flick’s preferred midfield combination for the big games has been Frenkie de Jong as the pivot, Pedri as the orchestrator, and Dani Olmo as the number 10, playing between the lines.

However, Olmo did not have a great game against Inter, who physically marked him out of the game in the first leg, and this could provide some food for thought for Hansi Flick. Should he stick with the 26-year-old or look to throw a curveball?

Sempre Barca wears the thinking cap

The Fermin Lopez – Dani Olmo debate. (Photo by Denis Doyle/Florencia Tan Jun/Getty Images)

We at Sempre Barca are of the opinion that Hansi Flick should change things up against Inter Milan in the second leg and start Fermin Lopez ahead of Dani Olmo in the number 10 role. The €50 million-rated Spaniard has been in good form coming into this game.

Much more physical than his Spanish counterpart, Fermin is a willing runner and will add more dynamism to the forward line that could help break Inter’s block. Lopez and Ferran Torres running behind the defense could create all kinds of problems for Inzaghi’s men.

That said, dropping Olmo would be compromising on some of his on-the-ball and line-breaking abilities. Fermin, despite his best efforts, is not at his best in this regard and is a completely different threat from the one that Olmo poses.

Fermin Lopez — The trump card

Inter might be preparing for the game with Olmo in mind, and starting Fermin could come out-of-syllabus to them. Moreover, the 26-year-old will then have the opportunity to come off the bench and influence play against the tired Italians, and it could turn out to be a win-win decision from Hansi Flick.

Let’s wait and see what the German coach thinks about the same and if he chooses Fermin Lopez over Olmo at the San Siro. Ultimately, it’s his decision that actually matters, and only time will tell how the cookie crumbles.