The back-to-back champions of La Liga start a brand new season on the lookout for a historic three-peat as Barcelona face Elche away from house of their first aggressive match of the marketing campaign.
Right here’s how we expect Hansi Flick will line up his troops for Sunday’s battle:
There shall be no registration drama this summer time as Barça have already registered each single signing excluding João Cancelo — who gained’t be prepared for the opener anyway — to provide Hansi Flick his complete first group squad to select from.
The coach’s selection shall be primarily based purely on participant health after a really quick preseason for the massive names and extra minutes for children and reserves, so the primary beginning lineup of the season will seemingly be very totally different from the one we’ll see in just a few weeks.
We all know Joan Garcia shall be in purpose and that Andreas Christensen and Gerard Martín had been the 2 senior center-backs with essentially the most minutes in preseason, so the actual doubt is concerning the full-back spots: Eric Garcia shall be a full-time right-back this yr and began in that place within the final two friendlies, so we expect he’ll be picked forward of Jules Kounde for this one.
Alejandro Balde performed most of preseason and is the apparent selection for the left-back spot, however his future is presently in query and his presence within the lineup will not be assured.
Balde could possibly be left off the group if a transfer away from Camp Nou accelerates this weekend, which might imply a beginning spot for 17-year-old Jordi Pesquer, who had a wonderful preseason and already has Flick’s belief.
Barça’s midfield is completely stacked this season however Rodri, Pedri, Gavi and Dani Olmo have all had little or no time on the coaching pitch and can in all probability start this one on the bench, with Flick anticipated to begin Marc Bernal as a single pivot and Fermín López together with Xavi Espart as fluid quantity 8’s. That was the beginning trio within the final two friendlies, and is an efficient decide to start the season earlier than the celebrities arrive within the second half.
Barça’s beginning assault for the opener can also be an enormous query mark given how little time Lamine Yamal and Anthony Gordon performed in preseason.
Raphinha had loads of minutes within the friendlies and appears sharp sufficient to begin on Sunday, however the different two spots will seemingly be occupied by new signing Karim Adeyemi on the correct wing and Hamza Abdelkarim up prime. The younger striker was Barça’s prime scorer in preseason and is filled with confidence, and his efforts ought to be rewarded by his coach with a spot within the XI in opposition to Elche.
Doable XI: Joan; Eric, Christensen, Martín, Balde; Fermín, Bernal, Espart; Adeyemi, Hamza, Raphinha (4-3-3)
How do you assume Barcelona ought to line up in opposition to Elche? Tell us your ideas, predictions and groups within the feedback under!
