Football Club Barcelona have travelled to Japan to take part in the Rakuten Cup for the first phase of their pre-season campaign.
The Blaugrana club will kick off their preparations for the next season against Europa League winners Chelsea on July 23 followed by the game against Vissel Kobe before returning to Barcelona for the Joan Gamper Trophy.
A 26-man squad that contains 9 players from the Barca B team- it will be a glorious opportunity for the La Masia youngsters to impress manager Ernesto Valverde for a place in the first-team squad next season.
The Spanish manager must utilise this situation to see how the new arrivals at Camp Nou fare in a Blaugrana shirt which will help him strike a balance amongst his Gala XI as we take steps towards a new campaign.
Team News
The Catalan club will miss several regulars from their starting XI with the likes of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Philippe Coutinho and Arthur Melo still on vacation following their Copa America antics earlier in the month.
Moussa Wague will also be absent from the pre-season activities in Japan after his involvement with the Senegal national team in the Africa Cup of Nations.
Currently, the Spanish giants face no injuries heading into the 2019/20 campaign and Valverde would like to keep it that way.
PREDICTED BARCELONA LINEUP VS SEVILLA (4-3-3)
Defence
Neto arrived from Valencia for €26m plus €9m in add-ons in a player plus cash deal for Jasper Cillessen and is likely to feature between the sticks.
A centre-back pairing of Jean Clair-Todibo and Samuel Umtiti- two backup options are tipped to start against the London blues.
With no replacements available yet for Jordi Alba, the 30-year-old will feature in the left-back spot with Sergi Roberto doing his bit on the opposite flank.
Gerard Pique, Clement Lenglet, Guillem Jaime and Nelson Semedo are expected to feature from the bench in the initial phase seeing the nature of the pre-season games.
Midfield
A three-man midfield of Riqui Puig, Carles Alena and new signing Frenkie de Jong are likely to start the game against the Blues.
The trio is pitted to be the future of the Blaugrana club and will have a golden chance to show what they can bring to the table.
With a plethora of options in midfield with Ivan Rakitic, Sergio Busquets, Monchu and Oriol Busquets, a complete rotation in the middle of the park will be on the cards in the second half of the game.
Attack
All eyes will be on Antoine Griezmann as he dons the Blaugrana colours for the first time after a saga which has continued from last summer and is far from over.
He is likely to be accompanied by countryman Ousmane Dembele and Malcom upfront, with the Spanish giants desperate to offload the latter in the summer.
Barca B youngsters in Sergio Araujo, Alex Collado and Hiroki Abe are also likely to get their opportunity from the dugout in the absence of Messi, Suarez and Coutinho.
Here is how they might line up:
