Flick has decided on the Barcelona midfield partnership against Villarreal – report

FC Barcelona will square off against Villarreal later today in Matchday 26 of the 2025/26 La Liga at the Spotify Camp Nou.

A victory will allow the Blaugrana to stretch their lead at the top of the table over Real Madrid, who play Getafe on Monday night.

However, Barça go into the game with a fresh injury setback as key midfielder Frenkie de Jong has been ruled out due to a hamstring issue.

It has left manager Hansi Flick with a major decision to make regarding his starting midfield combination against the Yellow Submarine.

Pedri-Marc Bernal to start

Now, according to SPORT, with De Jong unavailable, everything indicates that Flick will rely on the partnership of Pedri and Marc Bernal at the heart of midfield against Villarreal.

It means that the Canary Islander, who returned from injury recently, could return to the starting XI more than a month later and restore the order and control Barça have so clearly lacked in his absence.

Set to start vs Villarreal. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

Pedri has not started a match since 21 January, when he played 61 minutes against Slavia Prague, a game in which he suffered a hamstring injury that kept him out for a month.

The midfield maestro made his return on 22 February against Levante at Camp Nou, coming on in the 65th minute. Even in a brief appearance, his impact once again showed the extent to which Barcelona change with him on the pitch.

Pedri is now all set to start later today against Villarreal, with young Marc Bernal expected to be his partner. The teenage gem has been in good form in recent weeks and even scored against Levante last weekend.

So, while Marc Casado could also be an option, everything points at Pedri and Bernal getting the nod as Barcelona’s midfield pairing against Villarreal.