How will Barcelona line up in El Clasico against Real Madrid?

Barcelona look to win their first piece of silverware of the season this weekend as the Blaugrana face their biggest rivals Real Madrid in the second El Clásico of the campaign to determine the winner of the 2026 Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia.

The Blaugrana will meet their eternal enemies in the Supercopa title match for the fourth straight year, looking for a repeat of last year’s sensational Clásico win to defend their Super Cup crown and secure their first trophy of the campaign.

Here’s how we think Hansi Flick will line up his troops for Sunday’s battle:

Defense

It’s El Clasico, there’s a trophy on the line, and Barça got to rest many of their big names in the second half of their thrashing of Athletic Club in the semi-final, so there’s zero doubts about Flick going with his strongest possible team for this one.

There’s only one doubt about the entire XI, and that’s at the back: we know Joan Garcia will start in goal, and that Jules Kounde, Pau Cubarsí and Alejandro Balde will keep their usual spots in the back four. So the only question is who starts in the left center-back spot between Eric Garcia, who has played every game this season and has become a fixture of the lineup, and Gerard Martín, who was rested against Athletic and has become the first-choice partner for Cubarsí.

We think Martín will get the nod and Eric will be on the bench for this one, but it could easily be the other way around. Both choices are fine, and both players have Flick’s complete trust.

Midfield

There’s also a good chance that both Martín and Eric get to start and Garcia would move into midfield in place of Frenkie de Jong, but the Dutchman was excellent against Athletic as he finally reunited the double pivot with Pedri, and we think Flick will stick with his best midfield partnership for this one. Fermín López has regained starter status after two fantastic performances against Espanyol and Athletic, and he loves scoring against Real Madrid.

Attack

Lamine Yamal played only 20 minutes in the semi-final thanks to a minor stomach issue, and that turned out to be a blessing in disguise as Yamal got to rest and Roony Bardghji took full advantage of the chance to start in his place. Lamine has trained normally in the last couple of days and will return to XI, with Raphinha starting on the left and Ferran Torres likely to get the nod ahead of Robert Lewandowski up front.

Possible XI: Joan; Kounde, Cubarsí, Martín, Balde; De Jong, Pedri; Yamal, Fermín, Raphinha; Ferran (4-2-3-1)

How do you think Barcelona should line up against Real Madrid? Let us know your thoughts, predictions and teams in the comments below!