Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick has said that he is 'yet to decide' whether to start Fermin Lopez in Saturday's El Clasico.
The 21-year-old made his return from injury as a second-half substitute against Sevilla last weekend, before being given the nod from the first whistle against Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
Fermin was outstanding against Bayern, coming up with two assists during a strong performance, and the Spaniard is widely expected to retain his spot in the starting XI for Saturday's game with Real Madrid at Bernabeu.
However, Flick is now spoilt for choice in the midfield area, with Frenkie de Jong, Gavi and Dani Olmo all fit following recent injury issues, while Pedri and Marc Casado have both been in excellent form.
When asked about his team selection during Friday's pre-match press conference, Flick claimed that he 'had not decided' whether to select Fermin in the starting side for the La Liga contest.
Flick claims he has not decided on El Clasico XI
"I haven't decided yet. In the last goal against Bayern, he was very involved with the ball, indeed. He is showing that he is capable of doing what we ask of him. That he showed this performance in the last game was a great sign," said the Barcelona boss.
Flick is expecting "a great game" against Real Madrid, and he will be bidding to help Barcelona record their first La Liga victory over Los Blancos since March 2023.
"I can see that we are looking forward to tomorrow's game. It will be a great game... we have different ideas in our approach. Against Bayern we realised that we had to improve certain things. In this case we will have to adapt to Madrid. There are always players who go very fast.
"Now we are playing Madrid, who are a very prepared team but I trust my team because they are doing great. I liked to see how we went up after the 1-1 draw against Bayern. That's the example of what we are doing well, with more possession and more confidence. That's the key, to keep moving forward and adapting to different situations."
Flick remaining focused amid recent praise
Flick also insisted that he is not getting carried away with the praise that has been sent his way due to Barcelona's excellent start to the season, with the Catalan outfit top of the La Liga table on 27 points, scoring 33 times in their 10 matches.
"The praise doesn't put more pressure on me, it's nice to be praised but I know what my job is, which depends on results. That's why I focus on us winning, on the game, on how we want to play tomorrow," he added.
"It's true that the situation in the city has changed, because the connection with the team is huge. On Wednesday there was an incredible atmosphere in Barcelona. That's why I work every day, to make sure the fans are happy."
Despite Barcelona's injury situation easing in recent games, the Catalan giants will still be missing a number of important players on Saturday, with Ferran Torres, Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Marc Bernal, Andreas Christensen and Ronald Araujo all out, while Eric Garcia is highly unlikely to be involved due to a muscular issue. body check tags ::
