Barcelona travel to face third-tier Guadalajara in the Copa del Rey on Wednesday night, in their first outing in the competition this season. Manager Hansi Flick is expected to rotate heavily for the match.
Ahead of the game, Flick would not confirm who would be the goalkeeper for the game, despite announcing that Joan Garcia would be rested. Wojciech Szczesny missed their clash with Osasuna on Saturday due to a stomach bug, while Marc-Andre ter Stegen is fit and available for just the third time this season, and could make his debut this year.
Robert Lewandowski not expected to start
Despite Flick also noting that Robert Lewandowski would be available, Sport say he is not expected to start at the Pedro Escartin. The Polish forward was withdrawn after an hour against Eintracht Frankfurt last week, but did not feature on Saturday, and missed training on Monday.
In his stead will be Marcus Rashford, with Dro Fernandez on the left side and Roony Bardghji on the right, seeing rests for Lamine Yamal and Raphinha. Marc Casado, Fermin Lopez and Frenkie de Jong are all expected to start, having missed out at the weekend.
No place for Marc Bernal
It is significant that Marc Bernal appears to not be in Flick’s starting plans. The 18-year-old midfielder has been fully fit since September, but has managed just one start which lasted 45 minutes in the last three months. Bernal has supposedly been seeking more minutes, but publicly Flick has assured he will be given more game time, following stories that he could leave on loan in the January transfer window.
Szczęsny will start this evening in Guadalajara. Ter Stegen not only has Joan Garcia ahead of him, but also Tek. Flick has told him that if he stays, he’ll have very few chances to play. @FCBRAC1 is pic.twitter.com/lexJh9YaiJ
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) December 16, 2025
Christensen set for rare start
There could be a return to the left-back spot for Jofre Torrents, who has dropped back down to Barca Atletic since Alejandro Balde has returned to fitness. Centre-back Andreas Christensen has only managed three starts himself this season, his last coming in late September, but is set to return to the starting XI.
