Official: Barcelona starting XI against Real Madrid | Spanish Super Cup | OneFootball

FC Barcelona are set to soon kick off the second official El Clasico of the season, but this time in Saudi Arabia. Facing off against Real Madrid is always a massive encounter, but even more so when a title is at stake. Soon enough, Barcelona will be hoping to emerge as the victors of the Spanish Super Cup.

After having defeated Athletic Club in the semi-final, Hansi Flick’s side are now fully set and prepared for this upcoming final. With the team now having an opportunity to win Flick his first ever title with the club, a lot depends on how his players deliver on this big occasion.

However, with Dani Olmo and Pau Victor both registered again, there were some big lineup decisions that the German coach was expected to make ahead of the game. Now, it seems that he has finally decided which eleven players will start off the game for his team, as revealed by the official line-up.

In goal, Flick has decided to trust Wojciech Szczesny for the third game in a row. After having defended the Barcelona goal in the Copa del Rey against UD Barbastro, then in the Spanish Super Cup against Athletic Club, the Pole is yet to taste the feeling of conceding a goal at Barcelona.

Right ahead of him, Inigo Martinez and Pau Cubarsi form the centre-back partnership for this game. They will be hoping to keep Real Madrid at bay, whether it be through their defensive skills directly or through their organized offside traps, a trick that managed to work on Los Blancos quite well last time out.

On either side of the two defenders, Jules Kounde and Alejandro Balde occupy the right and left flank of the defense respectively. They will be looking to help out their partners in defense while also providing width up in attack.

In front of them, the two defensive midfielders are Marc Casado and Gavi. The tenacious duo will be relentless when it comes to putting pressure on their opponents in white, and Flick will be hoping that pressure can be used by Barcelona to their own advantage.

Up ahead, Lamine Yamal and Raphinha occupy the wide channels of the attack. Already having scored against Real Madrid this season, both the Spaniard and the Brazilian know what it takes to hurt Real Madrid and they will be looking to do it again. Pedri, on the other hand, will be starting in between them as the central attacking midfielder to provide creativity and more.

Lastly, Robert Lewandowski will be the starting centre-forward for the team. The Pole will want to make sure that he manages to get on the scoresheet in this game as he seems to have a knack for finding a way against Real Madrid from time to time.