Confirmed: Barcelona starting lineup against CE Europa – Plenty of La Masia talent on display

Confirmed: Barcelona starting lineup against CE Europa – Plenty of La Masia talent on display Hansi Flick has selected his first starting lineup of FC Barcelona’s pre-season campaign. The German coach has opted for a youthful side for the friendly against CE Europa, using the opening fixture as an opportunity to distribute minutes and assess several academy prospects ahead of the new season. A youthful starting XI Wojciech Szczesny starts in goal behind a back four of Hector Fort, Andreas Christensen, Gerard Martín, and Jofre Torrents. The midfield is made up entirely of La Masia talent, with Guille Fernandez, Brian Farinas, and Ibrahim Diarra all handed the chance to impress during the opening weeks of preseason. Up front, Roony Bardghji, Hamza Abdelkarim, and Shane Kluivert lead the attack in another clear indication of Flick’s willingness to give opportunities to emerging players. The match against Europa marks the beginning of Barcelona’s pre-season preparations, although Flick is still without many of his international players following their extended summer due to the World Cup. Among the substitutes are Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Alvaro Cortes, Tommy Marques, Xavi Espart, Karim Adeyemi, Marc Casado, and Marc Bernal. First glimpse of Barcelona’s pre-season squad numbers The match also provided supporters with the first look at Barcelona’s temporary squad numbers for preseason, as listed on the Catalan Football Federation’s official team sheet. It’s important to note that these numbers are provisional and apply only to this preseason fixture. They do not represent the club’s official squad numbers for the upcoming campaign. The most eye-catching assignment was Hamza, who started the match wearing the iconic No. 9 shirt. No. 14 for Adeyemi for the friendly. (Picture credit: X/@FCBarcelona) New signing Karim Adeyemi, who began the match on the bench, wore the No. 14 shirt, the number most recently associated with Marcus Rashford. Although this could attract attention, Barcelona have not yet confirmed their official squad numbers, and the final allocation will only be announced once the full squad has returned from international duty. Other shirt assignments included: Ter Stegen –. 1, Szczęsny – No. 25, Christensen – No. 15, Casado – No. 17, Fort – No. 2, Guille – No. 6, Farinas – No. 8, Diarra – No. 16, Gerard Martín – No. 18, Bardghji – No. 19, Jofre – No. 21, Bernal – No. 22, Kluivert – No. 23, Cortes – No. 5, Tommy – No. 10, Espart – No. 12 Official numbers still to come These shirt numbers should not be interpreted as final decisions for the 2026-27 season. With several first-team internationals yet to return from their extended summer break and additional transfer activity still expected, Barcelona’s squad numbering is likely to change several times before the club officially confirms the final list ahead of the new campaign. Source: SPORT