Joao Cancelo will make his first start since returning to Barcelona when they host Rayo Vallecano at Spotify Camp Nou on Monday.

Barcelona will aim to continue the perfect start to the 2026/27 season when they welcome Rayo Vallecano to Spotify Camp Nou on Monday night. Hansi Flick has no new injury concerns to worry about ahead of his side’s latest fixture.

Flick continues to sweat over Gavi’s fitness, with the Spanish international recovering from a knee injury. Frenkie de Jong and Roony Bardghji are long-term absentees, with the duo dealing with knee complaints of their own.

Otherwise, Flick has a full-strength squad to take on Rayo Vallecano this week. Meanwhile, during his pre-match press conference, the German tactician provided fitness updates on Lamine Yamal and Frenkie de Jong. He also heaped praise on Raphinha for his performances in the early days of the 2026/27 season.

The Barcelona manager said, “In training he [Yamal] is excellent and he is on the right path and we have to support him. In the first game he played an hour and in the second all 90. It’s important to take it day by day. We have a tough season ahead of us and Frenkie is a great player and we need him.”

“When he [Raphinha] plays as a 9 he’s the one who has to start pressing and he does it really well. He is one of the leaders out on the field and his finishing at the moment is really good.”

Joan Garcia is an automatic pick between the sticks, with Barcelona lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him against Rayo Vallecano this week. The backline will feature Eric Garcia, Pau Cubarsi, Gerard Martin, and Joao Cancelo.

As for the midfield unit, Marc Bernal will continue to line up alongside Pedri in the double pivot, with Fermin Lopez reprising the no. 10  role. Finally, Raphinha will lead the line for the home side against Rayo Vallecano, with Lamine Yamal and Anthony Gordon being the two wide attackers. So, Dani Olmo and Karim Adeyemi will be among the backup options on the bench for Flick to consider.

Predicted Barcelona XI: Joan Garcia; Eric Garcia, Cubarsi, Martin, Cancelo; Bernal, Pedri; Yamal, Fermin Lopez, Gordon; Raphinha