Pau Cubarsi and Wojciech Szczesny will return to the Barcelona starting lineup when they take on Sevilla at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium on Saturday.
Barcelona will aim to continue the perfect start to the 2026/27 season when they lock horns with Sevilla at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium on Saturday night. Hansi Flick has a new injury concern to worry about ahead of his side’s latest fixture.
Flick has been sweating over Joan Garcia’s fitness after the Spanish international sustained a knee injury in the game against Racing Santander earlier this week. The former Espanyol shot-stopper is likely to return after the international break.
The Spaniard has joined Frenkie de Jong (knee) and Roony Bardghji (ACL) in the treatment room. Meanwhile, during his pre-match press conference, Flick confirmed Joan Garcia’s absence but did not reveal his replacement for Saturday’s game. However, the German tactician also admitted that Pau Cubarsi will return to the starting lineup.
The Barcelona manager said, “Joan will be rested this weekend. It is important to have quality in that position. Tek knows how we want to play and understands our philosophy, whereas Livakovic has only just arrived and is still adapting. Everyone makes mistakes. Tek does too, and he knows that.”
“I think it’s very important to have quality. I think that, with Livakovic, we also have a top-class goalkeeper – that’s just the way it is. But we won La Liga with Szczesny; it was largely thanks to him. For us, he’s a fabulous goalkeeper with a wealth of experience. It was important for him [Cubarsi] to rest [against Racing]…there will be changes in the XI.”
Wojciech Szczesny will replace Joan Garcia between the sticks, with Barcelona lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him against Sevilla on Saturday. The backline will feature Eric Garcia, Pau Cubarsi, Gerard Martin, and Xavi Espart.
As for the midfield unit, there is no looking past Rodri and Pedri in the double pivot, with Fermin Lopez reprising the no. 10 role. Finally, Raphinha will lead the line for the away side against Sevilla, with Anthony Gordon and Lamine Yamal being the two wide attackers.
Predicted Barcelona XI: Szczesny; Eric Garcia, Cubarsi, Martin, Espart; Rodri, Pedri; Yamal, Fermin Lopez, Gordon; Raphinha