Dro Fernández debuts as starter in Champions League: rest for Frenkie de Jong

Published New:21/10/2025 - 18:35h

Updated New:21/10/2025 - 18:44h

Dro Fernández is the main novelty in Hansi Flick's starting XI for the Barça-Olympiacos match. The youth player will play his first Champions League match as a starter, replacing Frenkie de Jong

FC Barcelona faces Olympiacos this Tuesday in Montjuïc with a lineup very similar to that of last Saturday against Girona. For matchday 3 of the Champions league stage, Hansi Flick has only made a couple of tweaks to his XI, with Dro Fernández being the main novelty.

The 17-year-old midfielder debuts in the Champions League as a starter, replacing Frenkie de Jong. In principle, the player from Nigrán, who also debuted in LaLiga starting against Real Sociedad (2-1), will be the team's attacking midfielder, while Pedri González returns to his usual position alongside Marc Casadó in midfield.

Before the Donostia fans, Dro completed a discreet first half and was replaced after the break by Dani Olmo. The player from Terrassa, like Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski, will not be available due to injury. Joan García, Gavi, and Ter Stegen are also out against Olympiacos. Ferran Torres, finally, managed to be on the bench against the Greeks.

Rest for Frenkie de Jong, new opportunity for Fermín López

Frenkie de Jong during the Barça-PSG (1-2)

The 'Shark' could add some minutes in the second half, after a week affected by an overload in his left leg. His place in the Barça attack will be occupied, this Tuesday, by Fermín López. The player from Huelva played the second 45 minutes against Girona at a good pace and returns to the starting XI for the first time since the visit to Newcastle on September 18.

Fermín spent a month injured, but he has overcome his problems in his left leg. In principle, the '16' would be the team's left winger, accompanying Lamine Yamal and Marcus Rashford. The Englishman has performed very well on the wing, but this time he will play as a '9' due to the absences of Ferran and Lewandowski.

Frenkie de Jong, meanwhile, is being rested after four consecutive starts. The '21' had not been left out of the starting XI since the league visit to Oviedo (1-3), where he came on after halftime to provide an assist.

The midfielder also played 157 minutes with his national team against Malta (67') and Finland (90'), so Flick has taken the opportunity to give him a break thinking about next Sunday's Clásico. A match where the coaching staff hopes to recover Raphinha and, with luck, also Olmo. Lewandowski and Joan García are 100% ruled out against Real Madrid.

Ronald Araujo, Back on the Bench After His Goal Against Girona

Another surprise in the starting XI against Olympiacos was Ronald Araujo's place on the bench, for the second consecutive match. The 'charrúa' was Barça's hero against Girona, scoring the winning goal in the 90+3', but Hansi Flick has once again opted for the Eric García-Pau Cubarsí duo in central defense.

The 'charrúa' was also a substitute in the Champions League against PSG and has only been in the starting lineup in one of the last four matches (against Sevilla). That day he committed a controversial penalty that kicked off a forgettable afternoon for the 'culés'. Cubarsí has not been performing at his best, but Flick supports the '5' although he is still looking for the ideal central defensive partnership this season.