Today, Wednesday evening, Barcelona will play their round of 16 match in the King’s Cup, and coach Hansi Flick is expected to give opportunities to players who have not featured prominently in recent matches.
Barcelona will face Real Betis at the “Montjuic” stadium, hoping to capitalize on the players’ high morale and eliminate coach Manuel Pellegrini’s team to advance to the quarter-finals of the King’s Cup.
According to journalist Jordi Gil, who confirmed the news via the Catalan newspaper “Sport”, today’s match against Real Betis could be a valuable and final opportunity for Frenkie de Jong under Barcelona coach Hansi Flick.
Gil noted that with today’s rotation, De Jong is likely to feature, as he has become a marginal player in recent times. He played just 17 minutes in the Super Cup semi-final against Athletic Bilbao, where he was involved in a goal that was later disallowed by VAR. He did not play at all in the final.
The journalist also mentioned that the Dutchman started one league match this season, against Real Sociedad, but made two costly mistakes that resulted in the loss of four points for the team. These mistakes included poor coverage leading to the second goal against Celta Vigo and conceding a penalty in the match against Real Betis, which allowed the equalizer. As a result, De Jong has become a secondary option rather than a regular starter under the German coach, and his future with the club now seems uncertain.