Flick dismisses thoughts of winter reinforcements and confirms another Barcelona casualty

FC Barcelona hosts Alavés this Saturday at the Spotify Camp Nou for matchday 14 of LaLiga EA Sports 2025/26. The Catalans are coming off a loss to Chelsea in the Champions League, but they have three consecutive wins in the league and are only 1 point behind Real Madrid in the fight for the lead.

In the press conference before the match scheduled for 4:15 PM, Hansi Flick confirmed the return of Pedri González, who has been out for the last month due to a left hamstring injury. The manager, as he usually does with players returning from injury, will give the midfielder about 10-15 minutes of action in the second half.

However, Pedri's return contrasts with two new absences. In addition to **Fermín López**, who suffered a minor injury to his right soleus, Flick also confirmed that **Ronald Araujo** will not play against Alavés. The 'charrúa' was one of the main targets of criticism for the defeat at Stamford Bridge, after being sent off before halftime.

"Araujo has a stomach virus. He was out yesterday and today, and we'll see about the match. Emotionally, we're all down. The defeat against Chelsea has been difficult," explained the Barça coach

Hansi Flick Ratifies His Promise of Team Improvement

Regarding the team's performance on Tuesday, Flick insisted that, beyond a change in formation, the team needs to have all its players committed to their work on the field for high pressing to be effective"It's not just the defenders, it's the midfield and the forwards. Every player must press. It seems like the defense is to blame, and that's not fair. If we don't all press well, we'll have problems," insisted the German coach.

In that regard, he ratified his confidence in seeing a better Barça starting with the match against Alavés. The manager believes that if the players can translate what is worked on in training, line by line, the team will once again take a leap in quality.

"I want to see in the matches what I see in training. And I tell the players what I see. And that's what I told you too. We are in a good moment and the feelings are good. We are going to work on it"

Flick forgets about the winter market and gives no details about Saturday's XI

On the other hand, Hansi Flick was asked about the possibility of bringing in reinforcements in January. For now, the Barça coach is only focused on recovering all the injured players and taking it game by game for results

"I'm not thinking about the winter market. We are focused on what I have. On the match. We have just over three weeks left. There are many games to play and all my energy is focused on that," the manager emphasized.

Regarding the recent substitutions of Marc Casadó, Flick ratified his confidence in the '17' and in Marc Bernal, although he understands that both Eric García and Andreas Christensen have the qualities to help in midfieldFurthermore, regarding the Danish player, he avoided giving clues about his possible starting position against Alavés, following Araujo's absence. "We'll see if he plays a prominent role. I don't like talking about the starting eleven. We'll see, he could be an option," he specified.

He also admitted to having "missed" **Raphinha** in recent weeks for his contribution on the field, as well as the confidence in having **Lamine Yamal** at his best before the year-end break. "I was also a footballer and many times I didn't react as I should have. He must show his best level after Chelsea," he said regarding the '10's' anger after being substituted in London

"I see good dynamics, intensity... we have more confidence with and without the ball. And we have to show it. Our objective is to get three points against Alavés; everything else is put aside"