Barcelona manager Hansi Flick has made changes to his team’s plans over the new few days as he tries to get as much rest and recovery for his players as is possible after their midweek clash with Atletico Madrid.
The players put in a huge shift to beat Diego Simeone’s side 3-0 in the second leg of their semi-final tie but it wasn’t quite enough to avoid a Copa del Rey exit.
According to multiple reports, Flick knows his team is exhausted and has been doing his best to ensure they can get some rest
ahead of a busy week.
Barcelona will now travel to the Basque Country on Saturday morning for their clash against Athletic and will then go straight to the UK from Bilbao on Sunday.
The previous plan had been to return home in between the two games, but the new itinerary means they will stay the night in Bilbao which will avoid having to take two extra flights and endure more travel time.
Barcelona won’t train until Monday, the day before the game at St James’ Park, as Flick seeks to give his players as much rest as possible after losing Frenkie de Jong, Alejandro Balde and Jules Kounde to injury this week.
