Sports Mole looks at how Barcelona could line up in their La Liga opener with Valencia at Mestalla.
Dani Olmo is unlikely to be unavailable to make his Barcelona debut in Saturday evening’s La Liga opener against Valencia, with the attacker yet to be registered with La Liga.
The Spain international could therefore be made to wait until the team’s second game of the 2024-24 campaign against Athletic Bilbao in order to make his first appearance for the club.
Ronald Araujo, Ansu Fati and Gavi are definitely also out through injury, while neither Pedri nor Frenkie de Jong are expected to be available due to fitness issues.
Pedri has made excellent progress in his recovery from the injury that he suffered while representing Spain at Euro 2024, though, and his return is imminent.
The midfield absences could open the door for Marc Casado and Pablo Torre to start, while Lamine Yamal is expected to be in the side despite only just returning to training after representing Spain at Euro 2024.
Pau Cubarsi, who helped Spain win Olympic gold this summer, is in line to feature in the middle of the defence and could be joined by Andreas Christensen.
There remains speculation surrounding the future of Raphinha, with Manchester United the latest club to be linked with the Brazilian, but he is set to feature on Sunday.
Robert Lewandowski, meanwhile, scored 26 times in all competitions for Barcelona this season, and the 35-year-old is set to lead the line for Hansi Flick‘s team in their campaign opener.
Barcelona possible starting lineup: Ter Stegen; Kounde, Christensen, Cubarsi, Balde; Gundogan, Casado, Torre; Yamal, Lewandowski, Raphinha
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