Barcelona's Squad for La Liga Clash Against Racing Santander
Hansi Flick has shown his hand. Barcelona’s head coach has named a 23-man squad for Wednesday night’s La Liga clash with Racing Santander, a game that already carries the weight of a perfect start and an early statement of intent.
The Spotify Camp Nou will stage the sixth chapter of Barça’s league campaign, with kick-off set for 9:30pm Spanish time. Six games, six wins is the target. The margin for error at the top, with Real Madrid lurking three points back, feels as thin as ever.
Big guns in, key absences remain
Ronny Bardghji and Frenkie de Jong remain out of the picture, their absences again stripping Flick of two influential options in very different areas of the pitch. Even so, the squad list underlines one thing: this is no night for rotation experiments.
- Joan García
- João Cancelo
- Alejandro Balde
- Pau Cubarsí
- Gavi
- Fermín López
- Pedri
- Gabriel Jesus
- Lamine Yamal
- Raphinha
- Marc Casadó
- Szczęsny
- Karim Adeyemi
- Andreas Christensen
- Roony
- Dani Olmo
- Marc Bernal
- Jules Koundé
- Eric García
- Dominik Livaković
- Hamza Abdelkarim
It is a group built to keep the tempo high and the standard higher. Technical security in midfield, pace and incision out wide, experience at the back, and depth in goal with Szczęsny and Dominik Livaković reinforcing the position. Flick has options in every line, and he may need all of them as the fixtures begin to stack up.
Riding the wave of Levante
Barcelona arrive in this one still buzzing from their 4-2 win over Levante, a match that turned into the latest showcase for Lamine Yamal. The teenager scored twice, again carrying the electricity of a player who looks completely at ease with the responsibility of deciding games.
Marc Casadó and Karim Adeyemi supplied the other goals in that victory, underlining the spread of firepower in this squad. It was not just about flair, though. The result preserved Barça’s unbeaten start and, more importantly, kept them clear at the top, three points ahead of Real Madrid.
The bar has been set. Now comes the task of maintaining it.
A perfect start on the line
Racing Santander travel into a stadium where Barcelona have yet to blink this season. Flick knows a slip here would hand early encouragement to Madrid and invite questions he has so far avoided.
So he turns again to his core. To Gavi’s bite, Pedri’s calm, Cancelo’s aggression down the flank, Koundé’s authority at the back, and the cutting edge of Gabriel Jesus, Adeyemi, Raphinha, and the irrepressible Lamine Yamal.
The stage is ready, the squad is chosen, and the standard is clear. Six from six, or a crack in the early-season armour?
