Following their first El Clásico defeat of the Hansi Flick era, Barcelona are back in action on Sunday when they welcome Elche to Catalonia.
October was a nightmare of a month for Barcelona. Flick’s side looked a shadow of its 2024–25 self and lost as many games in October as it had the previous eight months of the calendar year.
A humbling defeat against Real Madrid means Barça are now five points back of their rivals in the early stages of the title race. If the Catalans want to defend their La Liga crown, they need to return to form fast given how formidable Xabi Alonso’s team is looking.
Injuries have severely compromised Barcelona this term. Key players such as Raphinha and Joan García remain sidelined and now, after being shown a red card in El Clásico, Pedri will miss up to two months with a hamstring injury.
Frenkie de Jong’s presence will grow in importance and Marc Casadó along with Marc Bernal will likely get more minutes to impress. Despite the injuries, Sunday’s match is a must-win game for Barcelona to restore the confidence of a wounded side, and the returns of Robert Lewandowski and Dani Olmo will only help the defending Spanish champions.
Here’s how Barcelona could lineup vs. Elche.
