Flick confirms squad rotation for Barcelona´s LaLiga clash with Sociedad

Hansi Flick confirmed that Barcelona would rotate their squad for their upcoming LaLiga clash with Real Sociedad amid concerns about their packed fixture schedule.

Sunday’s clash with Sociedad kickstarts a run of five games in 14 days for Barcelona, which includes their Champions League round of 16 tie with Benfica.

They also face title rivals Atletico Madrid in their final league game of the month before the international break, with the hopes they are still in contention for trophies.

Flick’s side are enjoying a 14-match unbeaten run across all competitions, with their hopes of winning LaLiga, the Champions League and the Copa del Rey still on track.

Barcelona enter this weekend’s game with Sociedad at the summit of the standings, but level on points with Atletico, with rivals Real Madrid only a further point behind.

“There are a lot of things going on this season, and I’ve changed the training sessions,” Flick said.

“In other games, like the (Copa del Rey) one against Valencia, we hardly rested, and the team did great. We have to be focused on the game.

“There are no excuses… the calendar doesn’t give us many more options. It’s something that has an impact.”

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Barcelona come into their match with Sociedad with huge confidence, having won five consecutive LaLiga games for the second time this season.

They have also scored in each of their last 37 home games against Sociedad in LaLiga (87 goals in total), their third-longest home scoring streak against the same opponent in the competition’s history.

But their defensive fragilities have been on show in recent weeks, despite only conceding 25 goals in LaLiga this season, the fourth-best record in the division.

Barcelona conceded four goals in their entertaining 4-4 draw in their Copa del Rey first-leg semi-final against Atletico in midweek, but Flick was not concerned.

“I’m not worried about when we concede… we start from scratch. What we have to do is take the energy and decide how to play,” Flick said.

“We already saw the two goals against Atletico, but then we played a good game.

“We invested a lot of energy at the end of the game too. We have to do things better as a team; we know that.”

Flick also confirmed that Barcelona will be without defender Andreas Christensen on Sunday.

“Andreas has been injured, and we have to wait and see how serious it is. Let’s hope it’s not. He has retired early. We have very good defenders.

“Ronald (Araujo) came in after an injury and is doing very well. He has everything to reach very high levels.”