Barcelona's Starting XI vs Elche: Insights from the Gamper Trophy
Hansi Flick didn’t need a post-match lecture to explain what’s coming next. Barcelona’s 2-1 win over Al Ahly in the Joan Gamper Trophy already told the story.
His team sheet did the talking.
With the La Liga opener against Elche looming on Sunday, Flick’s pre-season choices have quietly – and sometimes loudly – drawn the outline of his first competitive XI. Fitness has done the rest. Several players who would normally walk into Barcelona’s strongest side are still short of full sharpness, and that reality has pushed the coach to lean on those who have been available, reliable and adaptable over the summer.
Some have played their way into his thoughts. Others have been moved around like chess pieces. The Gamper Trophy added another clue, and one attacking switch in particular felt bigger than it first looked.
A spine takes shape
The clearest signals are at the back and in midfield.
In goal, Joan Garcia looks nailed on to continue. Flick has gone back to him consistently, and nothing in pre-season suggests a late twist there.
Ahead of him, Eric Garcia has quietly turned a question mark into a statement. Used repeatedly on the right side of defence, he has emerged as the leading option at right-back for Elche. On the opposite flank, Alejandro Balde’s return in the Gamper clash arrived right on time. His minutes against Al Ahly were more than symbolic; they put him firmly in contention to start at left-back on Sunday.
Between them, Gerard Martin has done enough to earn Flick’s trust. The defender has grown into pre-season, and the expectation now is that Andreas Christensen will stand alongside him in central defence. It’s not necessarily the back four fans would have predicted months ago, but it’s the one Flick has been building on the training pitch.
The midfield picture is even clearer.
Marc Bernal has been the constant, the central pivot around which everything else has turned. On either side of him, Xavi Espart and Fermin Lopez have surged ahead in the internal race. Flick has gone back to this trio again and again, and those repetitions matter. This isn’t experimentation anymore; it looks like a plan.
Taken together, those choices point towards an opening-day XI that may look very different from the “ideal” Barcelona side once everyone is fully fit. For now, availability is currency, and Flick appears determined to reward the players who have given him a full summer’s work.
The attack: one big clue at No. 9
Up front, the picture is far less settled.
One thing is clear: Raphinha will keep his place. The Brazilian’s spot feels secure, and Flick’s selections have backed that up.
The other wide berth is still up for grabs. Karim Adeyemi has the advantage of volume – regular minutes, regular involvement, regular trust. But Lamine Yamal’s quality makes him impossible to file away as just a rotation option. If Flick wants raw talent and unpredictability, the teenager is right there. If he wants continuity, Adeyemi has already given him that.
The real intrigue sits in the middle.
Hamza Abdelkarim has been the most frequently used centre-forward throughout pre-season. Every friendly, every run-out, his presence as the No. 9 has felt like the default setting. Then came the Gamper Trophy. When the Egyptian was taken off against Al Ahly, Flick didn’t turn to another orthodox striker.
He pushed Anthony Gordon inside.
That single move might be the biggest hint of all. Flick has spent much of the summer prodding and probing at the centre-forward role, looking for different profiles and different solutions. Gordon’s shift into the central role in a showcase game suggests he is now a genuine option to start there against Elche, not just an emergency fix.
It doesn’t automatically demote Hamza. His pre-season workload still counts, and he remains very much in the frame. But that substitution sent a clear message: Flick is willing to use Gordon as a central reference point when the game demands it.
On Sunday, we find out whether that Gamper tweak was just a test – or the first glimpse of Barcelona’s new attacking axis.
