Barcelona’s performance against Las Palmas was underwhelming, to say the least, as the Blaugrana fell to their second defeat in three games.
Several factors influenced the starting lineup on the night including Marc Casado’s absence and Lamine Yamal’s fresh return from injury. While the Golden Boy started on the bench, Hansi Flick opted for a Gavi-Pedri double-pivot in Casado’s absence.
Despite looking pretty on paper, the all-Spanish pivot did not work out from a tactical standpoint as it weakened the midfield through the middle defensively. The game only went on to highlight the importance of Casado in the lineup.
Set to return
After serving his one-game ban following his red card against Celta Vigo, Casado is set to return to the starting lineup against Mallorca midweek as revealed by Javi Miguel in AS.
Marc Casado will return to the starting XI against Mallorca. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)
The Catalans will be determined to stop the bleeding and get back to winning ways at Estadi de Son Moix on Tuesday and all signs point to the manager returning to his best XI on the night.
Casado will thus start in midfield, likely alongside Pedri in the double pivot, and will strive to restore balance in the department.
As revealed earlier today, Dani Olmo is also expected to be fully fit to start against Mallorca and will return to his place in the attacking midfield.
Yamal, after starting on the bench last night, will start on the right flank while Alejandro Balde has recovered from his collision and is also expected to start. Needless to say, the full-strength XI will go all out to take three points and turn the tables around.