FC Barcelona’s season gets underway against AS Monaco in the Joan Gamper Trophy final.
In the Catalan club’s view, its men’s first team’s season officially gets underway when FC Barcelona hosts AS Monaco at the Montjuic Stadium on Monday.
The French outfit will take on the locals for the chance to win the Joan Gamper Trophy, and this will be the first opportunity that those in Catalonia and this side of the pond have had to see Hansi Flick’s troops up close following the recent preseason friendly tour of the United States.
The tour yielded two victories over Manchester City and Real Madrid and a penalties defeat to AC Milan. Rest was granted to those that went far at the Euros and contested the Olympic Games, resulting in Flick having to trust in young and fringe players Stateside.
Against AS Monaco, Flick will go for a mostly-experienced defence led by a figure who will now most probably be his number one captain in Marc-Andre ter Stegen given Sergi Roberto’s announcement that he will leave Barca after 18 years on its books.
Recovered from a season-ending injury last term, Alejandro Balde is the youngest man on the back line and will have an unregistered Inigo Martinez and Andreas Christensen to his side at center back while Jules Kounde is the right back.
Two of the most impressive Blaugrana players on American soil, La Masia pearls Marc Bernal and Marc Casado will form a midfield three with Ilkay Gundogan, who has had questions raised about his future as of late.
Up front, as Euros 2024 winners Lamine Yamal and Dani Olmo perhaps aren’t yet match fit, Pau Victor and Brazil international Raphinha start on the right and left wing respectively with Robert Lewandowski the central number 9.
With this merely another preseason friendly in essence, however, we could hope to see $60 million signing Olmo, whose transfer was confirmed on Friday, in action at some point as well as a Lamine who lit up this match a year ago via a short cameo that destroyed Premier League giants Tottenham Hotspur and helped mount a dramatic, late comeback.
FC Barcelona Vs. AS Monaco Starting XI: Ter Stegen; Kounde, Christensen, Martinez, Balde; Casado, Bernal, Gundogan; Pau Victor, Lewandowski, Raphinha
