FC Barcelona vs AS Monaco in the Joan Gamper Trophy tournament.

The Catalan club announced that the first men’s team season will officially begin on Monday when FC Barcelona welcomes AS Monaco to the Montjuic Stadium.

The French team will face the locals to win the Joan Gamper Trophy, but this will be the first opportunity for Catalans and those on this side of the pond to test Hansi Flick’s troops after their recent preseason friendly tour of the United States. Take a closer look.

The trip included two wins over Manchester City and Real Madrid and one loss on penalties to AC Milan. The players who performed well at the European Championships and participated in the Olympics were given a rest, so Flick had to rely on the young and mediocre players from the United States. In the match against AS Monaco, Flick will rely on a defensive line dominated by experienced players, led by Marc-Andre ter Stegen, who is likely to become the number one captain after Sergi Roberto announced his departure from Barça after 18 years.

Alejandro Balde is recovering from a season-ending injury and is the youngest player in the defensive line, with unregistered Inigo Martinez and Andreas Christensen at centre-back, and Jules Koundé at right-back.

Two of the Blaugrana’s most impressive players on American soil, La Masia treasures Marc Bernal and Marc Casado, will form a midfield alongside Ilkay Gündogan, whose future has been in doubt recently.

Euro 2024 winners Lamine Yamal and Dani Olmo are likely not yet fit to play, so Pau Victor and Brazil international Rafinha will start on the right and left wing respectively, with Robert Lewandowski as the central No. 9.

Since this is essentially just a pre-season friendly, you can expect Olmo, the $60 million man whose transfer was confirmed on Friday, to feature at some point, as will Lamine, who made a cameo in this game last year, helping lead the team to a dramatic late comeback against Premier League giants Tottenham Hotspur.