Barcelona Lineup in Training Ahead of Supercopa Clash with Sevilla

A mix of starters and pre-season players.

Ernesto Valverde has gone with a mix of the projected season-long starters and the players who sparkled in preseason as Barcelona prepare to face Sevilla in the Supercopa de España. In training, he chose a lineup of Marc-André; Ter Stegen; Semedo, Piqué, Lenglet, Jordi Alba; Arthur, Sergio Busquets, Rafinha; Lionel Messi, Munir, and Ousmane Dembélé.

Diario SPORT reckons that Jasper Cillessen will start in goal, and Mundo Deportivo says it’s not unusual for the keeper who trained with the bench players to actually start. Meanwhile, Philippe Coutinho and Luis Suárez could also start, with Ivan Rakitić and Samuel Umtiti likely to be given extra rest after playing the FIFA World Cup final.

Sergi Roberto is unavailable due to suspension, and given that Coutinho’s European passport may not be ready in time, there may be a need to drop one of the non-EU players: Coutinho himself, Malcom, Arturo Vidal or Arthur (we can assume Yerry Mina and Marlon Santos will either be at another club or be the first to be discarded.) Signs point to Vidal, who has had the least time to settle in.

The Supercup will be a one-legged affair played at the Stade Ibn Batouta in Tangier, Morocco. This is the first time it’s just one match, as well as the first time it’s held outside of Spain.

Source: barcablaugranes.com