Barcelona manager Hansi Flick confirmed that Robert Lewandowski and Alejandro Balde will be in the squad for Sunday’s league deciding _El Clásico_ against Real Madrid, but both are expected to begin the match on the bench.
Balde — along with midfielder Marc Casadó — was passed fit by the medical staff on Saturday and will be named in the 23-man squad for the game after recovering from a hamstring injury, and Lewandowski already has 30 minutes under his belt following his return against Inter Milan.
Flick was asked if he plans on starting the two players against _Los Blancos_, and his response made it clear he won’t risk them from the beginning and will count on them as second half substitutes, with Gerard Martín likely to start at left-back once again.
> “I don’t think I’ll count on them at the start. I think Gerard Martín and the rest of the players are doing very well, and after the injury, things are a little different. After this game, we have three more. Maybe they’ll get minutes in the second half.
Hansi was also asked about the team’s morale after the heartbreaking European exit against Inter Milan, and the boss sounded confident and positive about the state of his squad ahead of a crucial game that could very well decide the _La Liga_ title.
> “We’re doing well. After the defeat in Milan, everyone knows it’s not easy... but we’re doing things right. We’ve talked about what we want to do in these two weeks. There are four games. El Clásico is important; we have to show how well we can play. We have to show confidence. The players are doing very well.”
The _Blaugrana_ have had four full days to digest what happened in Italy, and they are great professionals who should be able to move on and be fully focused on a giant match against their biggest rivals that will have massive implications on the title race. We’ll find out for sure if they’re truly over what happened in midweek, but the coach is confident they’ll be at their best on Sunday.