Barcelona Face Sevilla With Mandatory Goalkeeper Shake-Up as Dominant Champions Roll On

Seasoned midfielder Sergio Canales has witnessed a great deal throughout a La Liga career set to surpass 400 appearances, yet the 35-year-old has never encountered anything quite like this Barcelona side.

"Honestly, it is madness," Canales remarked following his Racing Santander side's brutal 7–2 thrashing at the hands of Hansi Flick's rampaging Blaugrana.

The reigning back-to-back La Liga champions are making a complete farce of Spain's top division, netting 28 goals across six league games to begin their title defense. They've undoubtedly benefited from a favorable run of fixtures, but Flick's outfit nevertheless looks utterly unstoppable.

Now it's Sevilla's turn to face the storm. Saturday's hosts have been resurgent after a difficult couple of seasons, launching the campaign with four victories from six matches to sit fourth ahead of this upcoming clash.

This could therefore represent Barça's sternest test to date, and here's the lineup Flick might select for the fixture.

Barcelona Predicted Lineup vs. Sevilla

GK: Wojciech Szczęsny—Joan García may only sit out Saturday's match due to the knee injury he sustained on Wednesday evening, and it appears veteran Szczęsny remains his backup despite the signing of Dominik Livaković. The Polish shot-stopper came on as a substitute after García went down with his injury.

RB: Jules Koundé—Eric García has featured more prominently at right back than many anticipated heading into the new campaign, but squad rotation could bring Koundé back into the starting eleven.

CB: Pau Cubarsí—The young centre-back was rested against Racing and is virtually certain to reclaim his place in the side on Saturday.

CB: Gerard Martín—Barcelona do face a dilemma alongside Cubarsí, with Flick's available options struggling to make a convincing case in the opening weeks of the season. Martín has been notably underwhelming, yet he may still be favored over Andreas Christensen.

LB: Xavi Espart—João Cancelo threatened to steal the spotlight on Wednesday before Raphinha took over, and Flick will weigh up keeping the lively Portuguese international in the side. That said, don't rule out a return for La Masia's newest talent.

CM: Rodri—Things are coming rather effortlessly for Rodri, who wasn't needed for the final portion of the match against Racing.

Pick Your Barcelona XI!

CM: Pedri—Flick was also able to keep the injury-prone Pedri fresh ahead of the Sevilla trip by substituting him after 60 minutes in midweek.

RW: Lamine Yamal—It was a lively evening against Racing for Yamal, who made up for a forgettable penalty miss by netting Barcelona's seventh. He enters Saturday's fixture having scored seven times in his last four La Liga appearances.

AM: Fermín López—Dani Olmo was handed the start last time out, so Fermín — who has been outstanding since the season began — should come back into the fold for Saturday's encounter. The Spaniard has found the net twice against Sevilla throughout his career.

LW: Anthony Gordon—Karim Adeyemi is in scintillating form, but Gordon has shown remarkable effectiveness since arriving in Catalonia. Flick values what the Englishman contributes across all phases of play, especially defensively. Adeyemi could cause real havoc from the substitutes' bench.

ST: Raphinha—Seven matches, 11 goals. Raphinha may not claim the 2026 Ballon d'Or, but he has his sights firmly set on next year's prize.