Barcelona will take on Girona (16:15 CEST) at home in the second game of a marathon run of fixtures, hot off the heels of their 3-0 win over Girona. For many the big question is how much Hansi Flick will rotate his side against an out of form Girona team, with the return leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final against Atletico Madrid (4-4 on aggregate) coming on Wednesday night.
Before the game, Flick was non-committal on whether he would be making changes, and praised Lamine Yamal’s ability to manage his fitness, when asked if he would rest. Sport believe it will be full-strength offering from Flick up front, but further back there will be opportunities for Fermin Lopez, Eric Garcia and Hector Fort.
MD agree that Ronald Araujo will return to action in place of Inigo Martinez too, but are of the opinion that Gavi will play deeper alongside Pedri instead of Garcia. They also feel Kounde will continue his relentless playing schedule. Flick is now without Dani Olmo after he was ruled out for the next few weeks, joining Andreas Christensen, Marc Bernal, Marc Casado and Marc-Andre ter Stegen on the sidelines.
Girona have paid the €300k fear clause to Barcelona making them eligible to play Oriol Romeu tonight. @tomasandreu68
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) March 30, 2025
Michel Sanchez has a number of his own injury issues to deal with, as Bryan Gil, Ivan Martin, Bojan Miovski and Abel Ruiz will miss the match. Donny van de Beek is also suspended for the Montjuic clash. It looks as if Arthur Melo will start against his former club, and Arnaut Danjuma will lead the line.
#Barca face #GironaFC and MD predict a near full-strength XI fromFlick, despite their upcoming Copa del Rey semi-final. Frenkie de Jong and Inigo Martinez are the notable absentees.
Girona are dealing with a series of injuries, but will start Arthur on his return to Barcelona. pic.twitter.com/UNdN0cOPnA
— Football España (@footballespana_) March 30, 2025
The main doubt is over Oriol Romeu, who could play against his parent club, and potentially ahead of Yangel Herrera, who returns from Venezuela duty this week. Last season saw Girona beat Barcelona 4-2 twice, but the Blaugrana were comfortable 4-1 winners in September at Montilivi. The Blaugrana are looking for a ninth straight win, while Michel will be desperate to snap a six-game winless streak that has the Catalan side looking down at the relegation zone, with seven points separating them from the drop zone.
