Yamal set for leading Barca role against La Real
Lamine Yamal will be handed a leading role when Barcelona hosts Real Sociedad on Monday (AEST), having returned from a groin injury after missing the Blaugrana's past four games.
Barca has won four straight games with Yamal absent because of a groin issue, which he aggravated while on Spain duty during the recent international break.
In LaLiga, it has recorded five wins and one draw so far this campaign, with only Real Madrid making a stronger start through six matchdays.
Barca boss Hansi Flick is uncertain whether Yamal will start at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys, which will host the game on Monday (AEST) amid further delays to the renovation of Camp Nou, but he intends to get the 18-year-old involved.
"I think he will have minutes, the question is whether he will be in the starting line-up or on the bench," Flick responded when quizzed on Yamal's involvement.
"But he will have a leading role in the match. I have no feelings of concern about him."
Barca will be without Raphinha, who is out for three weeks with a hamstring injury, while first-choice goalkeeper Joan Garcia has undergone knee surgery and will miss up to six weeks.
Gavi will sit out five months after having a procedure to rectify another knee issue.
But Flick is confident the Blaugrana will cope, saying: "It doesn't matter how many players we have injured; we focus on the players who can play."
Real Sociedad only took two points from its first five games, but a midweek 1-0 win over Mallorca has its head coach Sergio Francisco looking up.
"It's a victory that changes the dynamic. It generates a different context, it gets the team moving," he said.
"The last few days have been different. The team is happy, we have had good vibes from day one, we have that spark. Not winning made the weeks feel longer."
