Bernal, Pablo Torre start: Predicted Barcelona lineup to face AS Monaco

With less than a week left for the 2024/25 season to start, FC Barcelona will be involved in their traditional curtain-raiser of the campaign – the Joan Gamper Trophy match later tonight.

This year, the Blaugrana will lock horns against Ligue 1 outfit AS Monaco in what will be new manager Hansi Flick’s debut in front of the home fans at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys in Montjuic.

With the La Liga opener against Valencia on the horizon, Flick will be aiming to fine-tune his team while also hoping to give some minutes to the players who did not take part in the pre-season.

However, Barcelona will go into the game without the services of Pedri, Frenkie de Jong, Ronald Araujo, Gavi, and Ansu Fati, all of whom are still out injured.

Meanwhile, Fermin Lopez will also be unavailable as he will have a short vacation following his involvement in the Euros and Olympics.

Factoring in everything, here’s how Flick could set his team up against AS Monaco in the curtain-raiser.

Defence

Following Sergi Roberto’s departure announcement on Sunday, Marc-Andre ter Stegen is now officially the first captain of FC Barcelona and will lead the team out tonight against Monaco, after addressing the fans in the presentation ceremony before.

Even though Eric Garcia and Pau Cubarsi have returned after a successful Olympics campaign with Spain, they are unlikely to start tonight. Instead, we are likely to see Andreas Christensen pair up with Inigo Martinez at the heart of the Barcelona defence.

Flanking the centre-backs ought to be Jules Kounde, who appears set to continue at right-back this season, and Alejandro Balde, who will be playing in front of home support after almost seven months.

The likes of Alex Valle, Hector Fort, and Gerard Martin should feature at some point in the game.

Midfield

The partnership of Marc Bernal and Marc Casado as the double pivot in Hansi Flick’s 4-2-3-1 has been a major positive for Barcelona during the pre-season.

Bernal has shown class and maturity beyond his age while Casado is displaying why he has been long deserving of an extended run in the senior team. As such, they are likely to start against Monaco, with Ilkay Gundogan being an option from the bench.

Meanwhile, Pablo Torre, who was one of the revelations in the pre-season, should get the nod as the No. 10, after missing the final friendly vs AC Milan due to gastroenteritis.

New signing Dani Olmo is expected to get some minutes in the latter stages of the match.

Attack

Lamine Yamal and Ferran Torres are back in training after missing the pre-season, but are unlikely to feature from the get-go in the Gamper Trophy match.

Instead, Flick is likely to count on Pau Victor, the biggest surprise of the pre-season, to occupy the right flank. Raphinha, meanwhile, should feature on the left side.

Robert Lewandowski, who is the frontrunner for the fourth captain’s spot in the squad, will be the undisputed starter as the No. 9.

Given that Vitor Roque is out of favour and did not train in the last two days due to fever, it is unlikely that he will feature.