Official: Barcelona starting XI against Brest | UCL | OneFootball

FC Barcelona take on French side Brest in the UEFA Champions League as their fifth opponent in the competition. Hansi Flick’s team has been unable to make a good impression in recent games, and they will want to turn their situation around. Unfortunately, however, Barcelona are the team with most of the pressure on them this time around.

Winning at home at the Montjuic Stadium will be crucial for team momentum and morale. The Catalan giants desperately need a positive result and they truly need to prove that they can compete against opponents and win without needing Lamine Yamal or being completely dependent on him.

As expected, Hansi Flick has decided to field a strong starting lineup for this encounter against a team that has been unbeaten in the European competition so far, as revealed by the club’s official sources.

In goal, Inaki Pena retains his place as the starting goalkeeper for Barcelona. The Spaniard had an excellent performance last time out against Celta Vigo as well but saw his efforts wasted as his team collapsed right in front of his eyes.

Ahead of him, the trusted pairing of Inigo Martinez and Pau Cubarsi remains the starting centre-back duo for Barcelona. They have proven time and time again that they can hold their own against the toughest of opponents, and they will be expected to do so once again.

On either side of them, Gerard Martin and Jules Kounde start as the two fullbacks. While the Frenchman did not exactly have the most memorable of games last time around, he remains fully backed by Hansi Flick as the Barcelona coach continues to defend him publicly.

In the midfield, Marc Casado starts alongside Pedri as the two defensive midfielders. With Casado being red carded for the upcoming game against Las Palmas in La Liga, it makes sense for him to start this game in order to maximize his utility.

Right ahead of him, however, Fermin Lopez starts as the central attacking midfielder. On either side of him, Raphinha and Dani Olmo provide the width for Hansi Flick’s team and they will be looking to make things difficult for Brest.

Up top, Robert Lewandowski retains his place as the starting centre-forward for Barcelona and he will want to keep his fine goalscoring form going after having scored last time out against Celta Vigo as well. On a personal level, he will desperately want to get that one goal that is keeping him away from a special milestone as well.