Barcelona will kick off the defence of their La Liga title away at Real Mallorca on August 16th – but how will the Catalan giants line up for their first game?
Hansi Flick’s side swept all before them in Spain last season, winning both the league and Copa del Rey playing a brand of brilliant attacking football.
With the arrival of Marcus Rashford this summer, here’s how we reckon Barca will line up for the game against Mallorca in eight days’ time.
GK: Joan Garcia
With relations between Barcelona and Marc-Andre ter Stegen at an all-time low, new signing Garcia waltzes straight into the starting XI.
Bought from local rivals Espanyol, the 24-year-old looks a thoroughly modern, comfortable-in-possession goalkeeper and was purchased for a bargain €25million fee.
RB: Jules Kounde
Kounde is one of the few right-backs in world football who can seriously quarrel with Achraf Hakimi’s claim as the best in the world in that position.
He’ll be a crucial part of Barcelona’s XI for the foreseeable future, starting with the trip to Mallorca on Matchday One.
CB: Ronald Araujo
With veteran defender Inigo Martinez tearing up his contract and moving to the Saudi Pro League, Barcelona are suddenly short at centre-back.
While they’ll surely enter the transfer market for a replacement, Flick can turn to the likes of Araujo, Eric Garcia and Andreas Christensen in the short term.
Araujo played 25 times in all competitions last year, but always seems to have a mistake in him. Fingers and toes will be crossed.
CB: Pau Cubarsi
The kid from La Masia only turned 18 in January and yet was trusted to play over 50 matches in all competitions in 2024-25.
There was, inevitably, the odd moment of rawness. But we honestly can’t remember seeing a centre-back so composed and so complete at such a young age.
A bedrock of Barca’s future, immediate and long-term and a shoo-in at the heart of Flick’s defence.
LB: Alejandro Balde
Another La Masia graduate with a whole career ahead of him, Balde has already flourished into a dynamite young left-back.
There are some questions over how robust the 21-year-old is and extra cover may be required in the transfer market.
But you can’t see Balde’s status as the first-choice option coming under serious threat and he’ll surely start against Mallorca.
CM: Frenkie De Jong
Six years after leaving Ajax, De Jong produced the best season of his career to help Barcelona to double glory in 2024-25.
The midfielder has had ups and downs over the years in Spain, but he finally looks like the tiki-taka pace-setter they thought they were buying in the first place.
And there are strong rumours that De Jong will be given the Barcelona captaincy this year, following the decision to strip Ter Stegen of the armband.
CM: Pedri
There aren’t enough superlatives for quite how good Pedri was in 2024-25; the man from the Canary Islands is quite possibly the best midfielder in the world right now.
He’ll remain among the very first names on the teamsheet under Flick this year.
QUIZ: Can you name Barcelona’s 15 youngest La Liga goalscorers since 2000?
RW: Lamine Yamal
Already one of the best players in world football, Yamal is the first name on the Barcelona team sheet at the tender age of 18.
Not even Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo were so prodigious before adulthood.
That doesn’t mean Yamal will better their careers or even match them, but if he continues to develop and improve at the current rate, it’s impossible to predict what his ceiling will be.
CAM: Dani Olmo
Olmo had his moments in his debut season, but Barcelona fans will want to see more consistency and availability in 2025-26.
La Masia graduate Fermin Lopez is snapping at Olmo’s heels if he doesn’t step up, but you’d imagine that he retains Flick’s trust for now.
LW: Raphinha
Raphinha committed his future at Barcelona through to 2028 this summer, following what was by the best season his career to date.
“I’m not untouchable, but whoever comes will have to work harder than me,” he recently told Mundo Deportivo.
It’s that attitude that explains why Flick loves him so much and Marcus Rashford will have to make do with the bench for now.
ST: Robert Lewandowski
Lewandowski turned 37 this summer, but he still notched an impressive tally of 42 goals in all competitions last season.
The veteran Poland international is in the final year of his big-money contract in Catalonia. Barcelona need to start planning for a future beyond him.
But that can wait for now. While there are signs that the great striker may be slowing down, there’s no way he won’t start the season opener against Mallorca.
READ NEXT: How much Marcus Rashford earns compared to the rest of the Barcelona squad
TRY A QUIZ: Can you name the 27 players Barcelona have signed from the Premier League?