Flick Confirms His Star’s Readiness and Hopes to Benefit from the “Camp Nou”

Barcelona’s German coach Hansi Flick hopes that returning to Camp Nou will give the team an extra advantage against opponents, adding that his Brazilian star Raphinha is now available again after recovering from injury.

Saturday’s La Liga match against Athletic Bilbao will be Barça’s first home game in more than two years.

The renovation works exceeded the original timeline significantly, delaying the return by an additional year, but 45,401 spectators will be allowed to attend Saturday’s match.

Flick said in a press conference: “We are all happy to return to our stadium. In training, the feeling was incredible with all the fans present. We’re happy, and I hope this gives us an extra advantage thanks to the fans’ closeness to us. They always support us, and it’s wonderful to see this connection between the team and the supporters.”

Flick expects Lamine Yamal, Joan Garcia, and Raphinha to be available, but Marcus Rashford remains a major doubt after missing training due to illness. He added: “Rashford has a fever and missed both yesterday’s and today’s training sessions. I’m not sure if he will be able to make it for Saturday’s match.”