FC Barcelona Joan Gamper Trophy Line Up vs AS Monaco

In the Catalan club’s view, the men’s first-team season officially begins when FC Barcelona host AS Monaco at the Montjuic Stadium on Monday.

The French side will face the locals for the chance to win the Joan Gamper Trophy, and this will be the first opportunity for residents of Catalonia and this side of the Atlantic to see Hansi Flick’s troops up close following their recent pre-season friendly tour of the United States.

The tour yielded two wins over Manchester City and Real Madrid and a penalty shootout defeat to AC Milan. Rest was given to those who went far in the European Championship and the Olympics, resulting in Flick having to rely on young, marginal players from the United States.

Against AS Monaco, Flick will rely on a very experienced defence, led by a figure who will probably be his number one captain: Marc-Andre ter Stegen, given Sergi Roberto’s announcement that he will leave Barça after 18 years in the job.

Having recovered from an injury that ruled him out of last season, Alejandro Balde is the youngest man in the backline and will have the unregistered Inigo Martinez and Andreas Christensen alongside him in defence, while Jules Kounde is at right-back.

Two of the Blaugrana’s most impressive players on American soil, La Masia gems Marc Bernal and Marc Casado will form a midfield with Ilkay Gundogan, whose future has been the subject of question marks of late.

Up front, with Euro 2024 winners Lamine Yamal and Dani Olmo perhaps not yet fit, Pau Victor and Brazilian Raphinha start on the right and left wing respectively, with Robert Lewandowski as the central No.9.

However, with this being just another pre-season friendly, we can expect to see Olmo, a $60 million signing whose transfer was confirmed on Friday, in action at some point, as well as Lamine, who lit up this match a year ago with a short cameo that destroyed Premier League giants Tottenham Hotspur and helped mount a dramatic late comeback.

FC Barcelona vs AS Monaco: Ter Stegen; Kounde, Christensen, Martinez, Balde; Married, Bernal, Gundogan; Pau Victor, Lewandowski, Raphinha