Barcelona's meeting with Getafe on 10 October is less about the opponent and more about Hansi Flick's team sheet. Raphinha trained alone two days before the match at the Spotify Camp Nou, while Joan García and Eric García were still being managed as Barcelona tried to keep a perfect league start intact.
Flick's selection puzzle
Barcelona have won all seven of their league matches this season and sit on 21 points after seven games, with 31 goals scored and seven conceded. That sort of start gives Flick room to be cautious, but it also raises the cost of losing any attacking edge against Getafe.
Raphinha's status is the obvious talking point. He has 12 league goals this season and an 8.71 La Liga rating, so his fitness is not a small detail. Sports Mole said he should be available, but other reporting still had him training individually and in doubt until Friday.
The players still being managed
The other issue is who else Flick can trust without forcing the pace. Europa Press reported that Frenkie de Jong continued working with the group to finalise his recovery, and that Dani Olmo, Fermín López and the rest of the available first-team internationals were back in Thursday's session.
That gives Barcelona options if they decide to protect Raphinha. It also leaves room for Flick to hold back Joan García and Eric García a little longer, especially with De la Fuente describing Eric's issue as a "minor issue" and Barcelona still treating Joan's return with care.
The match itself is on 10 October at 18.30 hours at the Spotify Camp Nou. Barcelona do not need to force the issue, but the more they preserve their rhythm now, the less they have to gamble later.
Written by Daniel Hartley with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 4 outlets. How we work →
