Hansi Flick experiments with three Barcelona players ahead of Joan Gamper game | OneFootball

FC Barcelona have only one game left to play in the preseason, before they start their 2026-27 La Liga campaign on Sunday, i.e., the Joan Gamper Trophy game against the Egyptian side Al-Ahly. This match is scheduled to take place today, on Wednesday, and will also serve as an introduction of the next season’s squad to the fans at the Spotify Camp Nou.

Another aspect that will make this match quite exciting for the fans will be the starting eleven that Hansi Flick picks, as he is expected to go into this match with the same lineup that he will pick for the upcoming league game against Elche.

In this regard, Mundo Deportivo reports that the German coach has been experimenting with some of his players, as he played three of his players away from their natural positions in a small training match before the Joan Gamper game.

One of these players was Jules Kounde. Reports since the end of the last season have indicated that the Barcelona coach might use the Frenchman as a center-back as well during the upcoming season. This is particularly the case as Ronald Araujo has already left and Eric Garcia is going to be the starter on the right-back position. Thus, the coach played Kounde in the center of the defense.

Meanwhile, the youngster Brian Farinas was used as a right-back, a position where he had never played for Barca Atletic. However, Flick wanted to see how the youngster would perform there, especially as another player whom he saw as an option for this position, Tommy Marques, has already left the club.

Lastly, Raphinha continued to play as a center-forward, the same position he took in the starting lineup for the last friendly against Basel.

Going forward, it remains to be seen which of these players satisfied Hansi Flick with their performances in these new roles, and what roles they will have for the next season at Barcelona.