FC Barcelona and Girona face each other this Sunday in LaLiga EA Sports 2025/26 at the Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium in Montjuïc (16:15 CEST), for the ninth matchday of the tournament. Hansi Flick's team arrives with seven absentees due to injury, with Ferran Torres being the latest to return to the Barça infirmary.

We review the possible starting lineup, the substitutes bench, and the injured and sanctioned players of Hansi Flick's Barcelona for the match against Girona. Complete analysis!

Possible Starting XI for Barça against Girona

  1. (#25, P) Szczesny
  2. (#23) Jules Koundé
  3. (#04) Ronald Araujo
  4. (#05) Pau Cubarsí
  5. (#03) Alejandro Balde
  6. (#17) Marc Casadó
  7. (#21) Frenkie de Jong
  8. (#08) Pedri
  9. (#27) Dro Fernández
  10. (#28) Roony Bardghji
  11. (#14) Marcus Rashford

Barça Bench (substitute players)

  1. (#31, GK) Diego Kochen
  2. (#33, GK) Eder Aller
  3. (#10) Lamine Yamal
  4. (#15) Andreas Christensen
  5. (#16) Fermín López
  6. (#18) Gerard Martín
  7. (#22) Marc Bernal
  8. (#24) Eric García
  9. (#26) Jofre Torrents
  10. (#29) Toni Fernández

Injured Barça Players

  1. (#01, G) Marc-André ter Stegen
  2. (#06) Gavi
  3. (#07) Ferran Torres
  4. (#09) Robert Lewandowski
  5. (#11) Raphinha
  6. (#13, G) Joan García
  7. (#20) Dani Olmo

Possible Surprises and Tactical Variations from Flick Against Girona

In principle, Hansi Flick plans to make several adjustments to his lineup from Matchday 8 against Sevilla (4-1), with Balde back as left-back instead of Gerard Martín. In addition, Dro Fernández could return as left winger, while Marcus Rashford would move to the center of the area to accompany Roony Bardghji. Marc Casadó is also shaping up to be a starter.

Goalkeeping and defense

  • Wojciech Szczesny will be in goal, while Jules Koundé and Alejandro Balde will be the full-backs. In the center of defense, Ronald Araujo should partner Pau Cubarsí, with Andreas Christensen awaiting his opportunity on the bench alongside Eric García. Jofre Torrents and Gerard Martín will also be available.

Midfield:

  • As a pivot, Marc Casadó is poised to be Frenkie de Jong's partner in midfield, while Pedri would be the team's attacking midfielder given the absences of Dani Olmo and Raphinha. Fermín López returns from injury and, along with Marc Bernal, awaits his opportunity on the bench.

Forward:

  • In attack, Roony Bardghji and Marcus Rashford would complete the Barça attack alongside Dro Fernández. A starter against Real Sociedad, the youth player would also return to the XI, taking advantage of the absences of Raphinha, Olmo, Ferran, and Lewandowski. Lamine Yamal will have minutes in the second half, as will Fermín.

Barça casualties: Which players will miss the match against Girona due to injury?

Lewandowski injured! How many games will the '9' miss?

A total of seven Barça players will be confirmed absentees due to physical problems. The club lost Ferran Torres on Friday, as a precaution, due to discomfort in his left thigh. In that sense, the 'Shark' joins Robert Lewandowski as an offensive casualty. The Pole tore his left biceps femoris with his national team and will be out for around a month.

Alongside 'Lewy', Dani Olmo also remains in the Barça infirmary. The player from Terrassa suffered a muscular injury in the soleus of his left leg with Spain and is expected to return in early November.

Another who has not yet been medically cleared is Raphinha. The Brazilian has not yet recovered from his injury to the middle third of the biceps femoris muscle in his right thigh, although he still has a chance to, at least, make it to the Clásico against Real Madrid next Sunday.

Joan García, meanwhile, underwent surgery to treat an injury to his left meniscus. The player from Sallent will spend between four and six weeks in the infirmary, but his return could be postponed until mid-November. The outlook is much more complex for Gavi.

The midfielder underwent an arthroscopy and, ultimately, had to have surgery on the internal meniscus of his right knee. Therefore, the '6' will be out for between four and five months, with the tentative date for his return being February 2026. The latest casualty is Ter Stegen, who will be out of action, at least, until the end of November or the beginning of December.

Possible lineup of Girona against Barcelona

  • Starting XI: Gazzaniga; Martínez, López, Reis, Blind, Moreno; Witsel, Martín; Asprilla, Gil and Vanat.
  • Bench: Livakovic (G), Andreev (G), Rincón, Kouroma, Ruiz, Tsygankov, Jordana, Stuani, Solís, Sarasa, Ba.
  • Injured: David López, Juan Carlos, Donny van de Beek, Alejandro Francés, Thomas Lemar and Azzedine Ounahi.
  • Sanctioned: None

Girona, meanwhile, also arrives at matchday 9 of LaLiga with many players in its infirmary. In total, Míchel's team will be without 6 of its players, although the Spanish coach confirmed the return of Tsygankov and Abel Ruiz. Both will be on the bench after several weeks out.

In principle, the Catalan team will take to Montjuïc with Gazzaniga in goal, while Arnau Martínez and Álex Moreno will be their full-backs. López, Vitor Reis, and Blind would be in the center of defense, while the Witsel-Martín duo remains in midfield. Asprilla and Bryan Gil would be the wingers, with Vladyslav Vanat up front.

Míchel's team has barely accumulated 6 points out of a possible 24 and just achieved their first victory against Valencia last matchday (2-1). Therefore, the 'albirrojos' remain in relegation positions (18th), only ahead of Real Sociedad and Mallorca.