Barcelona have played four pre-season friendlies to this point, and their results have not been impressive.
Hansi Flick’s side have lost two and won two so far, with one of the victories coming in Europe with no players in the first team.
since then, They lost to Birmingham on penaltiesUdinese has the only win, beating Nottingham Forest by a 1-0 margin.
However, one common factor in all the above games was that the core of the team was missing in all of them. Even the recent friendly matches only featured well-known players such as Andreas Christensen, Rafinha, Fermin Lopez and Gerard Martin.
However, the team have now welcomed back their biggest names and Flick’s real pre-season will only begin now. There may only be one friendly and the Joan Gamper Trophy match left, but these will be the games that really matter.
Barcelona Universal brings you three talking points ahead of Barcelona’s next pre-season match against FC Basel scheduled for Sunday afternoon.
The return of the world champions
Spain dominated the recently concluded FIFA World Cup and were deservedly crowned world champions after a tournament in which they defeated several heavyweight teams in all stages of the competition.
Unsurprisingly, a large portion of the Spanish dressing room is made up of Barcelona players and The diamond Graduates, as was the case in 2010.
Pedri, Lamine Yamal, Pau Cobarci, Ferran Torres and Dani Olmo played a crucial role in La Roja’s path to the title, while the likes of Joan Garcia, Eric Garcia and Javi were also part of the squad.
The entire Spanish fleet is now back in training, and several of them have been called up for tomorrow’s match as well. In this sense, the confrontation against Basel is huge.
Garcia, Olmo, Cobarci, Eric and Lamin will travel with the team to take part in the pre-season match. Although they likely won’t start, getting them back on the field would be huge for Hansi Flick and his plans.
After all, the coach has had to plan most of his pre-season campaign with the core of the squad missing, and their return will help give a more realistic idea of how Barcelona will start the new season.
Pedri and Javi in particular Left out of the lineupmost likely for fitness reasons and they return to their fitness away from the group.
The first appearance of the new signature
Barcelona has only made two signings so far this summer, both in attack. While Karim Adeyemi has already made his debut for the club, Anthony Gordon is yet to feature in any matches for Barcelona.
His first trip with Barcelona 💼 pic.twitter.com/BhWyFgeSGN
– FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona_es) August 15, 2026
Snippets from training have already shown how well the former Newcastle United star is adapting to life under Hansi Flick and how his energy and playing style flow well with Barcelona’s overall idea.
Tomorrow, the player will make his debut for Barcelona as he travels with the team for the first time. It goes without saying that a lot of eyes will be on Gordon to see where and how he will be deployed.
The initial idea surrounding the Englishman’s arrival was to keep him as a rotation option with Rafinha, who has struggled with his fitness level in recent years.
With the club struggling to find a new striker now, Gordon’s name has also been linked with the No. 9 role.
It will therefore be interesting to see where new signing Hansi Flick will deploy in his debut – as a striker or a winger. Aside from the tactical aspect, there will also be a lot of focus on seeing how a player fits into the team’s style.
Barcelona’s first match without a striker
Earlier today, Barcelona officially announced Announced the departure of Ferran Torres to Paris Saint-Germain – A move that leaves Flick without a striker at the club. After all, Robert Lewandowski left the club at the end of last season.
Julian Alvarez remains Barcelona’s highest priority target in the centre-forward role and has been the focus for a long time now. But with each passing day, this deal looks more and more unlikely.
Heading into tomorrow’s match without a natural striker, Flick may be staring into a tunnel with no light at the end. With the possibility of not having a natural striker all season becoming a reality, the time has come Fleck finds the answers.
Two options have emerged in recent days – regime change or an internal solution to the number nine problem, and the manager could choose to try both approaches tomorrow evening.
The previous idea revolves around the use of false nines – a tactic for which Olmo offers a useful solution, and as Lamine has been spotted practicing in recent sessions. With Raphinha and Gordon on the flanks, fielding a false nine would not be surprising.
The second option is to keep Yamal and Rafinha on the flanks and use Gordon as a striker, because the Englishman has played in this position in the past. However, his quality as a target man remains to be seen.
With most of the other pieces of the puzzle fitting comfortably, it is the striker position that has plagued the Catalans, and there will be a lot of interest in that department in tomorrow’s game.
