Every body: Barring any accident, Joan Garcia will return to the starting lineup against Biba

Hupu News on November 17th. During the intermission of the national team competition, Flick was able to welcome back some injured players. One of them is Joan Garcia, and barring anything else, the goalkeeper will return to the starting line-up against Athletic Bilbao at the weekend.

He injured the meniscus of his left knee in an away game against Oviedo on September 25 and underwent arthroscopic surgery, and has missed Barcelona's last nine games. He was performing very well until his injury. There was only one big mistake (which happened to be in Oviedo), but it did not affect the result, and there were many saves. He made many very good saves, both in the league and the Champions League, especially in that great game at Newcastle, which proved that signing him was an absolutely correct decision and that his style of play fits perfectly with the model implemented by Flick.

According to people close to the goalkeeper, Joan Garcia felt very good when he returned and even had more desire. In fact, no one is in a hurry to get him back in goal. His recovery is carried out strictly according to the established timetable, with this period of time between national team matches as a reference point. With his return, the team is expected to regain defensive solidity. The goalkeeper played 7 games before the injury, conceding 5 goals and averaging 0.7 goals per game. This data is far better than Barcelona's performance in the next 9 games. During Garcia's absence, the team conceded 1.88 goals per game and a total of 17 goals in 9 games.

Joan Garcia, as he proved at Espanyol last season, is a reliable guarantee in front of goal, and he has dispelled any doubts at the beginning of the season, proving that he is also very good at his feet and is an expert in dealing with one-on-one goals with courage and positioning - which is crucial in Flick's Barcelona system, because the team always pushes the defense very high, applies extreme pressure and seeks to trap opponents into offside traps (although opponents have fallen into this trap far less this season).

His return to the starting lineup coincides with Barcelona facing two tough games: against Athletic Bilbao and Chelsea. The return of Joan Garcia should help achieve two goals. The first is to compete for the top spot in La Liga (currently held by Real Madrid, 3 points ahead of Barcelona), and the second is to join the top eight in the Champions League. After already dropping five points in Europe, a good result in London is crucial.

Joan Garcia returns to the goalkeeper position, which means Szczesny will return to the bench. The Polish goalkeeper joined Barcelona last season when Ter Stegen was injured and has filled the vacancy caused by Garcia's absence this season. Szczesny's performance was high and low as Barcelona won the domestic treble last season. He made 30 appearances, conceded 36 goals, and kept 14 clean sheets.

His performance this season was not that good. He cannot be considered responsible for all the goals conceded, but he also failed to save the team and became a victim of the fragile defense displayed by the team. He made 9 appearances and had no memorable performances. He performed very well in the El Clasico, including saving Mbappe's penalty, but that game ended in Barcelona losing. In fact, his numbers aren't pretty at all. He has conceded 17 goals in nine games, with Barca failing to win in four of those nine games (losses to Real Madrid, Sevilla and PSG, and a draw at Bruges where VAR saved him from a serious mistake late in the game). Szczesny has failed to keep a clean sheet in his nine appearances and the 35-year-old Pole will return to the bench and will be ready when needed.