FC Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick will rotate in midfield and defense when his team host crosstown rivals Espanyol in Montjuic for a La Liga match on Sunday.

With tragic floods in the Valencia region causing more than 200 deaths, Flick showed a preference for suspending the match in question during his pre-match press conference on Saturday afternoon.

“It is not easy to make a decision about what to do. It already happened three years ago in Germany. We support all those affected, but it is a matter for La Liga (to decide),” he said at the time he first mentioned. subject.

However, at another point during his meeting in front of journalists and reporters, Flick was more determined when he said: “If I could make the decision, maybe I would because it is a tragedy for Valencia and for Spain as a whole”, regarding matches across the country.

But as things stand, Barca will indeed take to the pitch at 4.15pm local time, and Flick insisted he knows “what a Barca-Espanyol derby is all about”.

“It will certainly be a tough match. After a fantastic week, it is important to be 100 percent tomorrow, with intensity and maximum quality,” the German emphasized.

Although he remained tight-lipped about the rotations, Flick was expected to get them in three games in 12 days before the next international break, and he will do so at least in midfield.

This means Dani Olmo starts, although neither Pedri nor Marc Casado are rested. Fermin Lopez, who has just signed a new contract, loses his place.

The rest of the team looks almost identical to the team that defeated Bayern Munich and Real Madrid 4-1 and 0-4 respectively last week.

It finds Inaki Pena in the net, protected by a back line of Alejandro Balde, Inigo Martinez, Pau Cubarsi, but Jules Kounde is replaced by Hector Fort at right back.

While on the frontline, Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski and Lamine Yamal continue to form one of club football’s deadliest attacking trios.

It will be interesting to see how many minutes substitute De Jong gets, with an impressive 45 at the Bernabeu, the most he has played this season.

At some point, Gavi could also enjoy more time on the pitch after three brief cameos in Barca’s last three outings.

FC Barcelona vs. Espanyol starting XI: Pena; Balde, Inigo, Cubarsi, Fort; Casado, Pedri, Olmo; Raphinha, Lewandowski, Yamal