Hansi Flick: 'It will be a nice game'
Tomorrow Sunday 14 September sees FC Barcelona host Valencia at the Estadi Johan Cruyff (kick-off 9.00pm CEST). As is the norm ahead of the game, blaugrana coach Hansi Flick gave his thoughts to the press, and on his counterpart on the Valencia bench, Carlos Corberán, he said "He is a coach who thinks a lot and has very interesting players. It will be a nice game".
Lamine Yamal misses out
When it comes to his squad, Flick will not be able to count on Lamine Yamal, who has to sit this one out due to a pubis problem. The blaugrana coach expressed his disappointment with the situation, stating "He joined the national team with pain and didn't train. They gave him painkillers to play. They had at least three goals advantage in each game and he played 73 and 79 minutes, and he couldn't train between matches. That isn't looking after the player. That makes me very sad".
The return of Bernal and Thiago Alcántara
He can't count on Frenkie de Jong and Gavi either, although Marc Bernal is back having been passed fit after over year out with injury. On the Catalan's return, the German coach stated that "he won't be in the eleven yet, but he is getting closer to being ready". "He will have all the emotion from being back with the team again tomorrow and we will have to manage it properly", highlighted Flick.
Lastly, he spoke about the return of Thiago Alcántara to his staff, stating "I am very happy he has returned. He has a lot of experience and can pass this on to the young players. I think he is another piece in the puzzle towards our success." He also mentioned that Barça have "great fans" and that he "really likes working for this club and in this city".