Roony Bardghji is the big surprise in Hansi Flick's lineup for the 2026 Spanish Super Cup semifinal. The Swede will take Lamine Yamal's place against Athletic Club, after the 18-year-old winger missed Tuesday's training session due to a stomach problem.
Finally, Flick has opted to rest the FC Barcelona '10' in Jeddah, although the manager made it clear that the Barça star will be able to **get minutes in the second half**. This will be as long as the team requires his contribution on the field.
"I spoke with him after lunch and he can play. He didn't train yesterday, but he can play," the German coach commented to 'Movistar+' before the match. In addition to Lamine, Flick also sent Gerard Martín to the bench, who had played as a starter alongside Pau Cubarsí in the center of defense in the last seven league matches.
Eric García will return to his natural position (center-back), while Frenkie de Jong will make up the midfield alongside Pedri González and Fermín López, both of whom were substitutes on Saturday against Espanyol.
Lamine Yamal will be a substitute for the second time in 25/26
In Yamal's case, the '10' hadn't started a match on the bench since September 28th, against Real Sociedad (2-1). Flick preferred to rest him after the pubalgia issues that have affected him since the beginning of the season.
Groin pain caused him to miss four league games and one Champions League match. However, the Mataró native has accumulated 9 goals and 10 assists in 21 of Barça's 26 games this season, being the Barça player with the most direct goal involvements in 25/26 (19).
In the aforementioned match against the San Sebastián team, Lamine came on with half an hour left to play and provided the assist for the winning goal with a pass to **Robert Lewandowski**. Against Athletic, it is likely that the winger will come on in the second half.
Golden Opportunity for Roony Bardghji in the Super Cup
To start, Roony Bardghji will take his place on the field as right winger. The Swede has 1 goal and a couple of assists in 13 games this season, but has barely accumulated 341 minutes of action in the first half of the season.
The Kuwait-born player has only started four times, the last of which was in the victory against Guadalajara (0-2) in the Copa del Rey round of 32. Against Betis (3-5), the Swede completed a great first half, with a goal and an assist at La Cartuja.
In the match against Athletic, Roony will try to seize another golden opportunity to shine in the Barça XI, where he will clearly have few minutes as a substitute for a Lamine Yamal who has been outstanding so far.