Confirmed: Barcelona starting lineup against Athletic Club | La Liga MD 1 | OneFootball

FC Barcelona lock horns with Athletic Club in a little over an hour at the Spotify Camp Nou in their rescheduled La Liga Matchday 1 fixture.

Having started the campaign with a 5-0 thrashing of Elche, the Blaugrana will be eager to build on that triumph and deliver a strong performance in front of their fans.

Cubarsi, Pedri back

Having opted not to rush some of his World Cup returnees right off, Hansi Flick has now reintroduced them into the starting lineup for this season’s first home match.

Indeed, key midfielder Pedri starts in midfield, forming the double pivot alongside Marc Bernal. He comes in for the injured Pedri.

Pedri starts in midfield. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

Meanwhile, Pau Cubarsi, who was not a part of the starting XI against Elche, features from the get-go, replacing Andreas Christensen at centre-back.

As for the rest of the defensive line, Gerard Martin lines up as Cubarsi’s partner at the heart of the Barcelona defence, while Eric Garcia continues at right-back ahead of Jules Kounde.

Xavi Espart starts at left-back once again, ahead of Alejandro Balde, who is back in the squad after being left out for the opener.

Gordon starts

In another notable change, summer signing Anthony Gordon, who registered two assists on his La Liga debut, makes his first start, coming in at the expense of Karim Adeyemi, who had scored on his debut against Elche.

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Gordon is expected to occupy the left wing, allowing club captain Raphinha to move into the false-nine role that Flick has tried him in during pre-season. Lamine Yamal continues to line up on the right.

Marquee summer signing Rodri is on the bench and could make his Barcelona debut tonight.