Hansi Flick 'skips' favoritism in Champions League and confirms Lamine Yamal's physical condition

FC Barcelona faces Newcastle this Thursday for the first matchday of the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 without its main figure available. Just like against Valencia, Lamine Yamal will be out due to a pubic injury that could keep him out of action for several more days. This was confirmed by Hansi Flick himself in the press conference prior to the debut in Europe.

"For me it is good to talk about the players you have and today (Lamine) is not there. Surely he will not be there on Sunday either (against Getafe). We have to wait. We have a strong team in that position," the coach began by saying.

In that sense, he reiterated the importance of respecting the recovery periods, both with Yamal and with the rest of the injured players. "You don't have to put pressure. The doctors and technicians are fantastic, we'll see how it evolves. He must return if he is one hundred percent, he is young and we must take care of him," argued Flick.

Rashford could take Lamine Yamal's place against Newcastle

Regarding the adjustments in the line-up, caused by the absence of the '10' in the offensive trident, the Barça coach assured that, for the right side, he has a very important card that he could use on Thursday against Newcastle. "Rashford is also there... I hope he plays the game he played on Sunday in England," said the German.

In turn, he did not skimp on praise for a Marcus who comes from giving a remarkable assist against Valencia, playing as a left winger. "He is an incredible player. He is fantastic. What I am seeing is very good. He has great potential to teach us. For me it is important to have him in the team."

However, Hansi Flick avoided giving clues about what his line-up will be in the Champions League debut. Robert Lewandowski is expected to start for the first time this season, while the central duo is an unknown. For now, the coach has only kept Cubarsí and Araujo in the first two matchdays of La Liga.

"I need to see today's session and sleep eight hours, then I'll decide," he said regarding who will be the '9' in England. And, about the centre-backs, he added: "We'll see which pair I put in. Cubarsí is also fine. I have no doubts."

Andreas Christensen could be the surprise, after accompanying him to the press conference. Similarly, Ronald Araujo, due to his height and bulk, would be a sensible bet to deal with the 'magpies' forwards in the aerial game.

"There are many young people, but also veterans, especially the Spanish ones. They know how to handle the pressure. It is our strength. We have to go out focused from the beginning"

Hansi Flick does not 'get wet' with favoritism in the Champions League

On the other hand, Hansi Flick analyzed Barcelona's chances of fighting again for the title of the UEFA Champions League. The Blaugrana team was close to reaching the final in 24/25, but the German coach, true to his custom, does not trust predictions.

"I don't think about favoritism. There are very good teams. We are going to work hard to improve every day," the coach pointed out. In addition, he stressed the importance of correcting the mistakes that cost the elimination against Inter and maintain concentration and intensity during the 90 minutes.

"I think we have to learn from every game, from what happened to us last year... I want what happened on Sunday, everyone connected, focused... Lamine, Balde, Gavi were not there... but we did well against Valencia and that is what I want to see tomorrow as well," Flick said.

"I expect intensity, dynamism... Newcastle has grown in recent years and their coach has done a fantastic job"

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