Lamine, Ferran start in a 4-2-3-1 – How Barcelona can line up against Real Madrid

FC Barcelona and Real Madrid will square off tonight in Jeddah with the first trophy of the season – the Spanish Super Cup on the line.

The Blaugrana go into the game having thrashed Athletic Club 5-0 in the semifinal, which made it nine wins in a row for Hansi Flick & co. across all competitions.

Having lost to Real Madrid 2-1 earlier in the season in La Liga, Barcelona will be gunning to settle the score by defeating their bitter rivals, and doing so in a cup final will only make it so much sweeter.

Barça go into tonight’s contest with a near full-strength squad as Gavi and Andreas Christensen are the only two players sidelined through injury.

Marc-Andre ter Stegen is fit and available after a scare earlier in the week. Ronald Araujo has continued to train with the squad, although it is unclear if he will be included in the matchday squad at this point.

With that being said, here is how Hansi Flick could set his Barcelona team up against Xabi Alonso’s Real Madrid tonight in the Spanish Super Cup Clasico finale.

Defence

Goalkeeper Joan Garciawill make his El Clasico debut tonight against Real Madrid and will look to put in another inspired display like the one against RCD Espanyol earlier this month.

Meanwhile, there are unlikely to be any alterations in the defensive line either, with Jules Kounde and Alejandro Balde nailing down the full-back positions on the right and left sides, respectively.

Pau Cubarsi, leader of the Barça defence at the tender age of 18, will occupy one of the centre-back positions, with Eric Garcia set to partner him once again ahead of Gerard Martin, who will be on the bench despite excelling as a makeshift centre-half in recent weeks.

Midfield

Pedri will be key for Barcelona. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

For Barcelona to dominate the game, the performance of Pedri in the midfield will be crucial. The Spaniard did not have the best of games in the previous El Clasico and ended the game with a red card and injury. Revenge and redemption will be on his agenda.

With Eric Garcia expected to slot in at the heart of the defence, Frenkie de Jong becomes the obvious starter as Pedri’s partner in the double pivot for the Catalans.

Marc Casado and Marc Bernal will be options off the bench for Flick if he wishes to switch things up.

As for the attacking midfield position, Fermin Lopez should edge Dani Olmo out for a starting berth once again after the La Masia graduate scored one and assisted two goals in the semifinal against Athletic Club.

Attack

The big headline in attack is that Lamine Yamal is 100% fit and ready and will start on the right flank, after being benched for the semifinal encounter vs Athletic Club due to fitness concerns.

Lamine’s return, however, will come at the expense of Roony Bardghji, who made a big impact upon being handed a starting berth in the midweek fixture.

Meanwhile, Raphinha is a shoo-in on the left flank and will aim to make the most of Real Madrid’s vulnerabilities on his side.

Robert Lewandowski boasts of excellent numbers in the Spanish Super Cup, but Flick has trusted Ferran Torres as his No. 9 and is expected to stick with him for the final.