Hansi Flick is left without brakes before PSG and Madrid

BarcelonaBarça has announced the absences of Eric Garcia and Jules Kounde just hours before boarding a plane to travel to Paris, where the 'blaugrana' team will face Paris Saint-Germain. These are two very important absences for Hansi Flick, as they are the two players he relies on to occupy the right-back position and cover Lamine Yamal's back. Both returned from this Saturday's match against Betis (2-5) with discomfort, which has resulted in injuries of varying nature. Together with the rest of the expedition, they landed 14 hours later than scheduled in Barcelona due to the storm and underwent the relevant medical tests.

The one who gets the worst of it is the defender from Martorell, who will be out for between three and four weeks due to a tear in his right thigh quadriceps. He entered in the second half of the duel at La Cartuja replacing Gerard Martín, who received a knock to the foot. Eric, therefore, will miss all the matches leading up to the international break, including the next one in Paris in the Champions League and also the 'Clásico' next Sunday. He is a vital piece for Flick in the most demanding scenarios thanks to his tactical sense and his leadership. He also contributes in the offensive aspect, as he demonstrated by scoring one of the five goals that Barça scored in their last league match.

As for Kounde, he has a sprain in his left ankle that made him get off the plane from Seville visibly limping. The Frenchman started at the Betis pitch and played the full 90 minutes. In his case, he will certainly not play at the PSG pitch, but the door remains open for him to participate in the El Clásico against Madrid. If he finally does, he already knows he will not have to deal with Vinícius' incursions down his flank, since the Brazilian is suspended for the hair-pulling he gave Saliba in the match a few days ago against Villarreal. The Madrid winger will serve at the Camp Nou just the second of the four-match ban he received for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Cancelo, Espart... or both at the same time

Looking at the immediate future, which is the demanding visit to Luis Enrique's PSG, Flick will have to improvise an unprecedented defensive line. On paper, he has two healthy players left who are capable of playing at right-back. They are Xavi Espart and João Cancelo. However, both the Maresme native and the Portuguese have become accustomed to playing on the opposite flank despite being right-footed. Flick prefers them with their profile inverted. Of Espart, trained as a midfielder, he values his great associative capacity, and from Cancelo, he makes the most of his privileged one-on-one ability. Both are very useful for occupying a left flank with more flight and more capacity for surprise than the right, where Lamine Yamal monopolizes a large part of the rival's surveillance. Therefore, the choice will entail a novelty regardless, since in the eleven official matches of this season, the right-back position has always been for Eric Garcia or Kounde.

On the other hand, the players that the Barça coach has used at left-back have been Espart and Cancelo in all the matches. The role of Alejandro Balde, the only 100% natural left-back in the squad, has become residual. The young man from La Verneda has not been a starter and has only played 13 minutes. Therefore, it sounds almost unthinkable that ahead of the trip to Paris he will suddenly become part of the starting lineup. Thus, it is most likely that Flick will rotate Espart and Cancelo instead of taking a gamble with a footballer in whom he has lost faith.

The absences of Eric and Kounde add to the already known one of Christensen, which automatically limits the choice of center-backs, also affected by the discomfort of Gerard Martín following the match against Betis. Pau Cubarsí will be untouchable in the heart of the defense and, in principle, Gerard will accompany him just as he did at La Cartuja and last Tuesday at Ali Sami Yen. However, if the man from Barcelona is not fit to play, Flick will also have to improvise by converting some midfielder. Rodri Hernández has competed as a center-back both with Manchester City and the Spanish national team, while Frenkie de Jong, already recovered from his knee injury, has practiced as a marker in some recent training sessions. The answer to the enigma, this Tuesday.