Barcelona take to the field one last time before the October international break on Sunday afternoon, facing off against Deportivo Alaves in La Liga.

The Catalan giants have made a remarkable start to the Hansi Flick era and have won seven of their opening eight matches in La Liga. Their sole defeat did come last weekend, however, with a surprise 4-2 loss at the hands of Osasuna allowing their title rivals to make ground on them.

Barca returned to winning ways midweek in the Champions League but will be desperate to avoid another slip-up before La Liga’s imminent hiatus. With injuries wreaking havoc on La Blaugrana’s squad – especially in midfield – a trip to mid-table Alaves may not be straightforward.

Here is how Barca could line up this weekend.

GK: Inaki Pena – Marc-Andre ter Stegen’s injury has opened the door for Pena, who is likely to be displaced by emergency signing Wojciech Szczesny in the coming weeks. For the time being he will be keen to take advantage of a rare run of starts.

RB: Jules Kounde – Despite a flurry of injuries across Barca’s squad, Kounde has proved a reliable provider at right-back so far this season. He and his defensive teammates have only managed one clean sheet in their last six outings, though.

CB: Pau Cubarsi – There’s no rest for Cubarsi, who will be asked to form a centre-back pairing yet again this Sunday. Barca must be careful not to overwork the 17-year-old as they have done with other academy graduates in recent years.

CB: Inigo Martinez – A goal and an assist is a pretty snazzy return for a centre-back, with Martinez offering just that in the 5-0 demolition of Young Boys midweek. The veteran has been utilised more than he would have expected this term.

LB: Alejandro Balde – The 4-2 defeat to Osasuna showed the dangers of rotating your defence against first-division opposition and Flick is unlikely to make the same mistake twice, with Balde returning in place of Hector Fort at left-back.

DM: Marc Casado – One of the silver linings of Barca’s injury issues has been the blossoming of Casado in holding midfield. The youngster already looks like an experienced metronome in the engine room.

DM: Pedri – Looked much more impressive against Young Boys alongside Casado than he did against Osasuna while partnering Eric Garcia. He will act as Barca’s deep-lying playmaker on Sunday with his exquisite passing range.

RW: Lamine Yamal – An infectious footballer who has only built upon his Euro 2024 brilliance in a Barca shirt this season, Yamal will be at the heart of everything for La Blaugrana at Alaves.

AM: Raphinha – The Brazilian is in the form of his life at present and registered a few more goal contributions against Young Boys. Whether in an attacking midfield role or out wide, he’s borderline unstoppable right now.

LW: Ferran Torres – Overshadowed by his more impressive peers, Torres may have a point to prove this weekend. He’s now underwhelmed in successive matches and Flick will only be patient with him for so long.

ST: Robert Lewandowski – Lewandowski’s renaissance under Flick has been impressive, albeit his standards have never fallen too far. The sharpshooter already has seven goals and two assists in LA Liga alone.

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