Joan Garcia, Lamine start in a 4-2-3-1 – How Barcelona can line up against Athletic Club | OneFootball

Saturday afternoon will be a special moment for FC Barcelona and their fans as they finally make their long-awaited comeback to the Spotify Camp Nou, when they take on Athletic Club.

For over 900 days, the Blaugrana have been away from their iconic stadium as redevelopment work was carried out as part of the Espai Barça project.

And while there is still a lot left to do, Barça return to the stadium, with around 45,000 fans set to be in attendance for the momentous occasion.

The aim for Hansi Flick & co. will be to mark the occasion with a brilliant performance and a victory to send the fans back home filled with joy.

However, it might not be as straightforward against a tricky Athletic Club outfit, even though Ernesto Valverde’s men have had a rather ordinary start to the season and have not won an away league game against Barça in over two decades.

Flick will welcome key players Joan Garcia and Raphinha back from injury, but Pedri remains unavailable, Frenkie de Jong is suspended, and Marcus Rashford is a doubt due to illness.

With that being said, here’s how Barcelona could take the field on the reopening of the Spotify Camp Nou against Athletic.

Defence

Hansi Flick confirmed in his press conference earlier today that Joan Garcia, back to full fitness, will take his rightful place in the Barcelona goal. The Spanish shot-stopper’s return will be a major boost for the Catalans, who have appeared vulnerable at times this season.

Meanwhile, the defensive line should see Jules Kounde and Alejandro Balde line up as the full-backs on the right and left sides, respectively.

As for the central positions, there is no looking past Pau Cubarsi, who is a permanent fixture for Flick when fit and available. He could likely be partnered by stand-in captain Ronald Araujo, as Eric Garcia’s services might be needed elsewhere.

Joan Garcia returns. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)

Midfield

As mentioned before, Barcelona are without both their starting midfielders, Pedri and Frenkie de Jong, for tomorrow’s contest. With Gavi also ruled out, Hansi Flick is short on numbers in the centre of the park.

While Marc Bernal is an option, the manager has been very cautious with the youngster’s reintegration after his recovery from ACL injury.

As such, the most likely outcome is that Marc Casado starts in the centre of the park, after being withdrawn from the lineup against Celta Vigo right before kickoff, alongside versatile star Eric Garcia.

Meanwhile, Fermin Lopez ought to get the nod as the attacking midfielder, ahead of Dani Olmo, who did make a decent impression after replacing Casado in the team vs Celta.

Attack

While Raphinha is back, the Brazilian winger is not ready to start a game. And with Marcus Rashford having not trained for two days in a row due to a fever, Ferran Torres could be moved to the left flank against Athletic Club.

It would leave the centre-forward slot open for Robert Lewandowski, who has been in red-hot form since returning from injury.

Lamine Yamal, meanwhile, will take up his customary position on the right wing and look to light up the Camp Nou on his second appearance at the stadium.