Barcelona’s 1-2 defeat to La Palmas was not one many saw coming, especially given the opponents’ poor run of form and that the Catalans had the home advantage.
Yet, the team was under pressure and was trailing for most of the second period and Hansi Flick called on all his strong resources on the bench including Frenkie de Jong, Ferran Torres and Pau Victor in attack.
It was thus very surprising to see that Dani Olmo did not even warm up to come on, for his presence in the squad painted a picture that his discomfort was not very severe.
No doubts against Mallorca
As revealed in a recent update on AS, Olmo has an overload in his pubis and while he could play, the coach decided to err on the side of caution despite the team losing.
Hansi Flick is counting on Dani Olmo. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)
However, the outlet reveals that the attacking midfielder will be back in action and that Flick will likely even count on him to start against Mallorca midweek.
Also expected to start on the night are Lamine Yamal, who played only the second half last night, Alejandro Balde who left the field winded after a challenge, and Marc Casado who missed the Las Palmas game through suspension.
Barcelona will thus have their strongest lineup available midweek and will look to desperately turn around their situation in La Liga, especially after dropping eight of their last nine points. Olmo, needless to say, will be key.
So far this season, the 26-year-old has played seven league games for Barcelona and scored five goals in that process. He also has created three big chances and completes 1.6 dribbles per game.