Frenkie de Jong has no base place at Barcelona on Sunday evening in the home game against Athletic Club. Trainer Xavi has made a base for Gavi in his midfield, so that De Jong seems to be getting some rest. Memphis Depay is back in the match selection after weeks of absence due to a hamstring injury: the attacker starts on the bench.
De Jong played ninety minutes in the Europa League match with Napoli last week, which was won 2-4 partly due to a goal from the Dutch midfielder. “Frenkie de Jong is a genius. He is very, very good”, said Xavi after the game. Partly because of those words, it seems that De Jong is now getting some rest during the league match against Athletic. Barcelona only won one of the four league matches in which De Jong was a basic player, while 52.6 percent of the matches were won with him at the kick-off.
25% – Barcelona have only won one game in #LaLiga this season of their four games with Frenkie de Jong as starter ???? (25% D1 L2), compare to their 52.6% when the Dutch has appeared in the Starting XI (GP 17 W10 D7 L2). bench#BarcaAthletic † pic.twitter.com/WLQqkjwZVG
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) February 27, 2022
For the home game, Xavi’s midfield consists of Sergio Busquets, Pedri and Gavi. In addition to De Jong, Jordi Alba also disappears from the starting eleven compared to the duel with Napoli. The defense for goalkeeper Marc-André Ter Stegen consists of Sergiño Dest, Ronald Araújo, Gerard Pique and Dani Alves. The front line is unchanged and once again consists of Ferran Torres, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Adama Traoré.
Luuk de Jong is therefore once again on the bench, while Depay is also back in the selection. “He and Clément Lenglet are training normally and are 100 percent fit,” said Xavi at the press conference in the run-up to the duel with Athletic about the return of Depay and the centre-back. “If they don’t get any backlash, they’re in the squad. They now have more competition, but both have to show that they are important to the team. Ultimately, it’s about performance. We count on them.”
Barcelona line-up: Ter Stegen, Dani Alves, Pique, Araújo, Dest; Busquets, Gavi, Pedri; Ferran Torres, Aubameyang, Traore.