Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick has revealed that he is intending to use Alejandro Balde off the bench in Sunday's La Liga clash against Real Madrid, with the left-back not yet ready to start.
Balde has not played for Barcelona since suffering a hamstring injury against Leganes on April 12, and the Spain international has been on the sidelines longer than initially anticipated.
The defender made his return to training on Thursday, though, and he is set to be named on the Barcelona bench for the title showdown in Spain's top flight.
As a result, Gerard Martin is again likely to be given the nod at left-back from the first whistle.
Robert Lewandowski made his return from a hamstring issue of his own against Inter Milan in the Champions League on Tuesday night, but the Poland international is also not ready to start, so Ferran Torres is set to continue through the middle for the Catalan outfit.
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Balde, Lewandowski set to start on bench in El Clasico
"I don't think so from the start. Gerard and the rest of the players are doing very well, we have to be very careful. I think in the second half they can get minutes," Flick told reporters during his press conference on Saturday afternoon.
Barcelona's starting side could be identical to the one that took to the field for the first whistle against Inter in the second leg of their Champions League semi-final.
The Catalan outfit are currently top of the La Liga table, four points clear of second-placed Real Madrid, so a victory on Sunday would leave them in an incredible position with just three games left.
"We're doing well, after the defeat in Milan everyone knows it's not easy, but we're doing things well. We have talked about what we want to do in these two weeks," said Flick.
"We have four games and a Clasico to show how well we can play. We need to show that confidence about what we want to display.
"We have spoken to the players to find out their feelings, we do it openly. In a game like the Clasico, we have to be at 100%, active, with intensity, dominant. They are a fantastic team, but we are playing at home. At every moment of the game, the fans know what we need.
"When you play this type of game, Madrid will also try to win. For us, I'm not worried about the situation in the table, we have to win. That's our mentality, how we go out from the start. We are focused on this game, nothing else.
"If you ask the players, they will always want to win it, it's a Clasico. It doesn't matter what happens in the standings."
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Who will Barcelona face in La Liga before the end of the season?
Barcelona will follow El Clasico with a Catalan derby against Espanyol on May 15, and their penultimate match of the season will then come against Villarreal on May 18.
Flick's side will conclude their season against another team chasing Champions League football, with Athletic Bilbao their opponents at San Mames on the final matchday of the 2024-25 La Liga campaign.
Matt Law
