Who will play next to Pedri... Flick has a headache before facing Atletico Madrid

Hansi Flick, the coach of the Spanish team Barcelona, ​​faces a crucial decision before his club's upcoming trip to face its host Atletico Madrid in the twelfth round of the Spanish Football League championship.

Barcelona leads the competition with 30 points, two points ahead of its closest competitor, Atletico, while Real Madrid is in third place with 27 points.

With the absence of veteran star Rodri, the German coach is studying the options available to accompany Pedri in the midfield, where three names stand out, each of which has different characteristics.

During the match, which is being held at the “Riyadh Air Metropolitano” stadium, Barcelona must find a careful balance between possession of the ball and dealing with the physical strength of the host team.

According to the Spanish newspaper “AS”, Marc Bernal is considered the most prominent candidate to replace Rodri’s absence. The player started the season as a key player before Rodri regained his fitness. Flick also relied on him against Paris Saint-Germain two weeks ago, preferring to rest the captain of the Spanish national team at the time in anticipation of the “El Clásico” match.

Bernal has good memories of facing Atletico Madrid, as he gave one of his best performances in a Barcelona shirt last season during the second leg before the Spanish King’s Cup final at Camp Nou, where he scored two goals from set pieces, which ignited the team’s hopes of achieving a historic comeback, even though it was not completed in the end.

However, Flick decided to exclude him from participating in El Clásico, preferring him to Dutchman Frenkie de Jong, who is gradually regaining his level and physical fitness.

De Jong is considered a strong competitor for this position alongside Pedri, as he started against Alaves, while he received limited playing minutes against English club Aston Villa in the Champions League.

After playing his 300th match in a Barcelona shirt, De Jong confirmed that he is in good physical condition, stressing that he is a midfielder, despite being employed as a center back during the match against Alaves.

Reports indicate that the Dutch star is Flick's preferred choice to fill this pivotal role in the midfield alongside Pedri within the (4-2-3-1) plan, thanks to his experience and ability to control the tempo of the game.

According to the Spanish newspaper’s report, there is also a third candidate, Gavi. Although his chances seem less, due to the lack of minutes he has participated in recently, he possesses characteristics that may prompt Flick to rely on him, such as his superior ability to extract balls, high pressure, and his passion for physical tackles.

It is noteworthy that Gavi had previously excelled in previous matches against Atletico Madrid as well, where he performed exceptionally at the “Riyadh Metropolitano Air” stadium in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-finals last season, and formed a successful duo with Pedri.

The two players have an innate understanding, as they were the first choice in the midfield, and their presence contributed to the resolution of the “El Clásico” match against Real Madrid, a confrontation that ensured the team won the title last season.

Gavi's presence also gives the team more ferocity in pressing, and the ability to neutralize Atletico's midfielders, led by Barrios.

Thus, Flick finds himself facing three different options: Bernal’s vitality, De Jong’s experience, and Gavi’s ferocity. His selection will determine the features of Barcelona's midfield in one of the most difficult tests of the season. Matches against Atletico are rarely decided by possession alone, but also require strength, fighting spirit, and tactical discipline.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall responded to his exclusion from the England squad by helping his club Everton make up for his injury with a goal in a 3-1 victory over Coventry City in the English Premier League, on Friday.

Dewsbury-Hall was not included in the squad for this month's Nations League matches against Croatia and Spain, with England coach Thomas Tuchel saying the Everton midfielder was close to joining the squad.

A few hours after the lineup was announced, Dewsbury-Hall scored a goal to seal Everton's victory and add it to the goals of his colleague Tierno Barry.

The 28-year-old player told Sky Sports, after the home win: “It was a disappointing morning. I won't lie. Playing for my country's national team is a big dream for me. I know I was close. I'm sad, yes, but I'm really proud of myself and the way I handled the situation. All I can do is continue to perform well, and I hope that one day I will get the opportunity, because I will never give up. I have the necessary mentality. “I will continue to persevere and press, and see what happens.”

England, which ranks second in Group C in the Nations League, will host Croatia at Wembley Stadium on November 12, before traveling to Madrid to face Spain three days later.

Coventry City coach Frank Lampard said that the incident of Caleb Jerinki's hair being pulled deserved a penalty kick, as he criticized three refereeing decisions during his team's 3-1 loss on Friday at Everton Stadium in Liverpool in the English Premier League.

Tierno Barry scored two goals and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall added the third goal in the final minutes, so the home team was able to come back from behind with a goal by Yann Gbouw at the beginning of the second half.

Lampard was frustrated because he thought Coventry should have been awarded a penalty in the first half when James Tarkowski pulled Jerenecki's hair during a struggle for the ball, but referee Stuart Attwell dismissed the team's protests.

The rules regarding hair pulling have been relaxed this season, as referees also take into account the intention to pull hair and the degree of force when determining whether a violation has been committed or not.

Lampard told reporters: “They say the tension was not enough, and I think that is difficult to evaluate.” What is hair pulling? You decide it happened, but it's not enough. I think the rules are good. It's not a red card. I kind of understand that because I think in a football match a lot of things happen that aren't exactly exciting. If the rule still states that it is a violation, then I think it was indeed a violation.”

Lampard also said he believed Vitali Mikulenko fouled Taiwo Onyi near the edge of the penalty area, and that Barry handled the ball before scoring his second goal. VAR referee Timothy Wood decided that there was no handball.

Lampard said: “Barry’s condition is a touch of the hand. I heard them say it didn't touch his hand, but I saw an angle where it appeared he pushed it with his hand with a final touch. The video technology system exists for such cases.”

Everton coach David Moyes, whose team rose to fifth place, while Coventry remained in 16th place, rejected the claim of touching the ball by hand, but also criticized the hair-pulling rule.

"The ball certainly didn't touch his hand," Moyes said. “The hair-pulling rule has changed, so if hair-pulling had been a violation it would have been a yellow card, but I still think it's ridiculous to have that rule in the game.”