Barca Universal
Osasuna vs Sevilla got the 2022/23 season for La Liga underway last night as the hosts pulled off a 2-1 victory over the Julien Lopetegui’s side. Celta Vigo vs Espanyol then thrilled us to a four-goal thriller, before Villarreal made the trip to Real Valladolid.
For the fourth game of the season, Barcelona get ready to host Rayo Vallecano at the Camp Nou. After a thrilling summer window, followed by an equally promising pre-season, Xavi has his troops ready for the first curtain caller.
Unsurprisingly, Robert Lewandowski gets the nod to start in attack, spearheading the new-look Barcelona attack. Raphinha gets his Barcelona debut, playing on the left-wing, while Ousmane Dembele assumes responsibility on the right.
In midfield, Xavi has gone for Sergio Busquets as the pivot, with the most obvious pick of Pedri as one of the free 8s. The third, and highly debated spot goes to Gavi, while Frenkie de Jong and Franck Kessie await their turn from the bench.
With Jules Kounde yet to be registered, Andreas Christensen got the freeway to a spot in the heart of the defence. He is partnered with Eric Garcia, while Ronald Araujo starts as the riht-back. Jordi Alba and Marc-Andre ter Stegen retain their spots as the left-back and goalkeeper respectively.
Confirmed Barcelona XI: ter Stegen; Araujo, Christensen, Garcia, Alba; Gavi, Busquets, Pedri; Dembele, Lewandowski, Raphinha
