Marc Bernal, Darvich to start – How Barcelona could line up against Manchester City

All eyes will be on Barcelona as they brace themselves for their first friendly of the ongoing US tour.

The Catalans are all set to take on Manchester City at the Camping World Stadium in Orlando later tonight.

Although Barça are coming on the back of a friendly against Olot, this will be Hansi Flick’s first real test after taking over the managerial position from Xavi Hernandez.

Heading into this friendly, therefore, Flick will have some key decisions to make, in regards to team selection.

Recent reports, in fact, suggest that the German plans to start two entirely different starting XI in two halves of the game, with a focus on giving young players an opportunity to perform. Here’s how we predict Flick to set his Barcelona team up against Pep Guardiola & co.

Defence

Inaki Pena looks likely to start in goal, ahead of Marc-Andre ter Stegen, though the German is likely to come into the XI in the second half.

Things get more interesting in the defensive backline. Everything suggests Flick could start with Hector Fort in the right-back position, ahead of Julian Araujo.

Alejandro Balde, meanwhile, appears to be the only real option on the opposite flank, though we can expect Alex Valle to be introduced in the second half.

As for the central defensive areas, Andreas Christensen and Inigo Martinez could take the charge, though Flick will shuffle his pack later in the game.

Inigo Martinez likely to start vs Manchester City (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)

It must be noted that Flick has loads of defensive options from the academy including the likes of Alexis Olmedo, Sergi Dominguez and Andres Cuenca.

One would expect a few of them to be given an opportunity to perform against a top team like Manchester City. Interestingly, Flick also has the option to deploy defensive outcast Clement Lenglet, who is still a part of the team despite uncertainty over his future.

Midfield

Moving into midfield, Flick may go for a combination of experience and youth. In the 4-3-3 formation, we could see Oriol Romeu operate as the defensive midfielder.

The veteran midfielder could be partnered by the young duo of Marc Bernal and Marc Casado, both of who impressed in training so far.

In the second half, Flick could hand opportunities to a few more young players, including the likes of Quim Junyent and Guille Fernandez.

With the likes of Frenkie de Jong, Gavi and Pedri struggling with injuries, the onus is on these players – both young and experienced – to step up their game.

Attack

As for the attacking unit, Flick could once again prefer a combination of youth and experience.

With Robert Lewandowski leading the pack, Flick could deploy the young offensive duo of Noah Darvich and new signing Pau Victor out wide.

Vitor Roque, too, will be one of the players worth keeping an eye on, but the Brazilian could appear in the second half. Academy players such as Toni Fernandez should get an opportunity to perform as well.

With Ferran Torres and Lamine Yamal missing due to an extended break and Ansu Fati picking up an injury, Flick is short of numbers in attack, so it will be interesting to see if any of these young players can seize the opportunity.