Kounde, de Jong And Olmo To Start | 4-2-3-1 Barcelona Predicted Lineup Vs Rayo Vallecano | OneFootball

Barcelona will face off against Rayo Vallecano at the Estadio de Vallecas this Sunday night as they look to secure a positive result on the road in La Liga. The Catalan club managed to secure a hard-fought 3-2 win over Levante recently, which should keep them in good spirits ahead of this game.

Hansi Flick will stick with his favoured 4-2-3-1 formation and is expected to make some tweaks to his starting XI for this clash. Jules Kounde, Frenkie de Jong and Dani Olmo could all play from the start of this game.

4-2-3-1 Barcelona Predicted Lineup To Face Rayo Vallecano

Defence

Joao Garcia will operate in between the sticks for Barcelona after shipping in a couple of goals in his last outing. Ronald Araujo will resume his defensive partnership with Pau Cubarsi at the centre of Flick’s backline as they look to keep the opposition at bay during the 90 minutes.

Jules Kounde will try to catch the eye as the right-back, while Alejandro Balde hopes to prove his worth on the other side as the left-back. Both of them will get the freedom to go forward and express themselves in the Vallecano half.

Eric Garcia and Andreas Christensen will offer cover for the defensive positions on the bench.

VALENCIA, SPAIN – AUGUST 23: Lamine Yamal of FC Barcelona reacts during the LaLiga EA Sports match between Levante UD and FC Barcelona at Ciutat de Valencia on August 23, 2025 in Valencia, Spain. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)

Midfield

Frenkie de Jong and Pedri will anchor the midfield for the Catalan giants as they look to dictate the tempo of the game at the centre of the park.

The gifted trio of Raphinha, Dani Olmo and Lamine Yamal will operate just ahead of them as part of the Barcelona attack. All three of them need to combine well if they want to engineer enough clear-cut chances for the visitors to come out on top this weekend.

Gavi and Fermin Lopez will have to settle for a place on the bench as they wait for their chance to shine in the second 45 minutes if required.

Attack

Ferran Torres will spearhead Barca’s attack up top. He would be eager to find the back of the net after managing to score against Levante recently.

Marcus Rashford will be available for selection on the bench and might come on to influence the game in the latter stages of the contest if needed.