Veteran playmaker Sergio Canales has seen plenty during a La Liga career that will soon stretch beyond 400 matches, but the 35-year-old hasn’t quite experienced anything like this Barcelona team.
“Honestly, it is madness,” Canales said after his Racing Santander team was subject to a 7–2 mauling at the hands of Hansi Flick’s rampant Blaugrana.
The back-to-back La Liga champions are making a mockery of the Spanish top flight, scoring 28 times in six league outings to kick off their title defense. They’ve certainly capitalized on a kind run of fixtures, but Flick’s side nonetheless appears nothing short of unstoppable.
And now it’s Sevilla’s turn to feel their wrath. Saturday’s hosts are on the up after a couple of years in the mire, opening the campaign with four wins from six to leave them in fourth heading into their upcoming bout.
Thus, this could be Barça’s trickiest challenge yet, and here’s the team Flick could pick for the match.
Barcelona Predicted Lineup vs. Sevilla
GK: Wojciech Szczęsny—Joan García may only miss Saturday’s game with the knee injury he picked up on Wednesday night, and it seems as if veteran Szczęsny is still his deputy despite the arrival of Dominik Livaković. The Pole replaced García off the bench after he picked up his injury.
RB: Jules Koundé—Eric García is playing a more prominent role at right back than some may have expected entering the new season, but rotation could see Koundé return to the fold.
CB: Pau Cubarsí—The young defender enjoyed the night off against Racing and is a sure bet to return to the team on Saturday.
CB: Gerard Martín—Barcelona do have an issue alongside Cubarsí, with Flick’s options struggling to stake their claim during the first month of the season. Martín has been particularly poor, yet he may still be preferred to Andreas Christensen.
LB: Xavi Espart—João Cancelo tried to steal the show on Wednesday before Raphinha did his thing, and Flick will consider retaining the dynamic Portuguese international. However, don’t be surprised if he reverts to La Masia’s latest gem.
CM: Rodri—It‘s all coming a little bit too easily for Rodri, who wasn’t required for the final third of the contest against Racing.
Pick Your Barcelona XI!
CM: Pedri—Flick was also able to keep the brittle Pedri fresh for the trip to Sevilla by taking him off after an hour midweek.
RW: Lamine Yamal—It was an action-packed night against Racing for Yamal, who atoned for an inconsequential penalty miss by scoring Barcelona’s seventh. He heads into Saturday’s game having scored seven times in his previous four La Liga outings.
AM: Fermín López—Dani Olmo got the nod last time out, so we should see Fermín, who’s been absolutely superb at the start of the season, come back in for Saturday’s challenge. The Spaniard has scored twice against Sevilla in his career.
LW: Anthony Gordon—Karim Adeyemi is in electric form, but Gordon has proven to be impressively efficient in Catalonia. Flick loves what the Englishman offers in all phases, particularly out of possession. Adeyemi could do some serious damage off the bench.
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