Hansi Flick edging towards dropping star for Copa del Rey against Real Madrid | OneFootball

Barcelona squeezed through against Borussia Dortmund in their Champions League quarter-final on Tuesday night, but it was a game that brought a hangover with it. Despite returning to the final four for the first time in six years in Europe, there were more questions than answers for Hansi Flick.

Primarily it was the players asking those questions, with Jules Kounde, Frenkie de Jong and Robert Lewandowski varying levels of critical of their performance after the match. Flick noted that he had to remind his players of their achievement.

One piece of good news from the Barcelona perspective was the return of Dani Olmo from injury. He played the final ten minutes of the encounter, and Flick is intending on easing him back into action. Just ten days out from their Copa del Rey final against Real Madrid, his plan is to gradually increase his minutes in games against Celta Vigo and RCD Mallorca beforehand, so that he can have a big impact during El Clasico.

Flick is intent on recovering his starting midfield, with Pedri, rested for an hour against Dortmund, de Jong and Olmo. The latter may not start against Los Blancos though, potentially coming on as an impact substitute, as he did in the first Clasico between the two this season at the Santiago Bernabeu. In fact, Sport claim he is edging towards starting Fermin Lopez in Seville, with Olmo coming on later.

Image via Diario Sport

Lopez has had more continuity than Gavi in recent weeks, and while goals have eluded him, Flick has been happy with his contribution.

It is worth pointing out that during the aforementioned Clasico at the Bernabeu, Lopez was also given a starting berth. Marc Casado was also in the line-up that day, with Frenkie de Jong coming off the bench, albeit Barcelona did improve with the Dutchman replacing Lopez in their 4-0 win.