Casado To Start, Bernal On The Bench | 4-2-3-1 Barcelona Predicted Lineup Vs Espanyol | OneFootball

Barcelona will clash heads with Espanyol at the RCDE Stadium on Saturday night as they look to earn a positive result on the road in La Liga. Barca managed to secure a solid 2-0 win away at Villarreal before the winter break, which should keep them in good spirits going into this game.

Hansi Flick will set his players up in a 4-2-3-1 formation and is expected to make one tweak to his first XI for this clash. Marc Casado could play from the start of this game.

4-2-3-1 Barcelona Predicted Lineup To Face Espanyol

Defence

Joan Garcia will function in goal for the Catalan club after he kept a clean sheet in his last league outing. Pau Cubarsi will operate alongside Gerard Martin at the heart of the Barcelona backline as they look to keep things solid at the back during the 90 minutes.

Eric Garcia will try to prove his worth as the right-back, while Alejandro Balde hopes to prove his worth on the other flank as the left-back. Both of them will get the license to go forward and join in on the attack at every chance they can get.

Jules Kounde is a major doubt for this game as he continues to recover from his injury.

VILLARREAL, SPAIN – DECEMBER 21: Lamine Yamal of FC Barcelona is challenged by Alberto Moleiro of Villarreal CF during the LaLiga EA Sports match between Villarreal CF and FC Barcelona at Estadio de la Ceramica on December 21, 2025 in Villarreal, Spain. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)

Midfield

Marc Casado and Frenkie de Jong will anchor the midfield for Barcelona as they focus on establishing their superiority over the home team at the centre of the park.

The gifted trio of Raphinha, Fermin Lopez and Lamine Yamal will function just ahead of them as part of the Barcelona attack. All three of them need to be at their best if the Catalan giants are to come out on top this weekend.

Marc Bernal and Marcus Rashford will have to be content with a spot on the bench as they wait for their chance to influence the game in the second 45 minutes if needed.

Attack

Ferran Torres will lead the charge for Barcelona up top. The Spaniard has to figure out a way to cause a lot of headaches for the Espanyol centre-backs this weekend.

Robert Lewandowski will be named on the bench and might come on to make an impact in the latter stages of the game if required.