Flick names Raphinha, Pedri and Yamal among Barcelona captains

Hansi Flick has revealed that Raphinha, Pedri and Lamine Yamal will be three of Barcelona's captains for this season, with the latter voted to the role by his team-mates ahead of Sunday's trip to Valencia.

Eric Garcia and Frenkie de Jong will round out Barca's leadership group for 2026-27, with Flick waiting until the end of the transfer window before confirming his captains.

The Blaugrana have made a perfect start to their quest for a third straight LaLiga crown, beating Elche 5-0, Athletic Club 2-0 and Rayo Vallecano 5-2 in their first three games.

Next up, they go to the Estadio de Mestalla to face a Valencia side stranded on one point from three matches, following back-to-back defeats to Real Betis and Deportivo de A Coruna.

Barca's thumping win over Rayo saw Yamal and Raphinha both score braces, with Spain's World Cup-winning winger getting off the mark for the campaign following two goalless games.

And both of those players will hold senior roles in the dressing room this season, as Flick said: "I have decided on two captains, and the other three were voted by the players.

"For me, when I see the team and the players we have, with their influence on the team, I see Raphinha and Pedri as captains. 

"I don't want to choose the others; I wanted the players to choose, because they [Yamal, De Jong and Garcia] are important, and they are fixed in the XI. 

"It was an easy decision, because now I know the team better. In previous seasons we had players like Marc-Andre [ter Stegen] or [Ronald] Araujo [as captains], who weren't playing much. 

"With the choice of the team and the five, I'm happy; we'll need players who can talk, who take responsibility."

Flick also revealed on Saturday that Yamal had been forced to train separately after suffering a knock, though he will be part of Barca's travelling squad on Sunday and could be involved. 

Flick has a new face among his attacking options this weekend, after Barca completed the €10m signing of Gabriel Jesus from Arsenal.

Jesus scored 32 goals and assisted 18 in 123 outings for the Gunners, before falling out of favour as Mikel Arteta's side won the Premier League last season. 

But Flick revealed the Brazilian will be on the bench this weekend, saying: "I really liked what I have seen; he's not 100%, but he's ready to play some minutes. 

"He is one of the options for the second half, depending on how the game goes, but he is certainly ready. He's very calm in front of goal."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Valencia – Luis Rioja 

Rioja has scored more LaLiga goals against Barcelona than any other opponent (four goals in 11 appearances). 

Since the 2020-21 season, only one Spanish player (Borja Iglesias, five) has scored more goals against the Blaugrana in the competition (Iago Aspas and Jose Luis Morales also have four).

Barcelona – Fermin Lopez 

Fermin, who has scored three goals in his last three LaLiga appearances, has netted five goals in three games against Valencia in the competition.

That is more than he has netted against any other opponent, scoring in all three of his matches against them, including two braces.

MATCH PREDICTION: BARCELONA WIN

Valencia won their last LaLiga encounter with Barcelona 3-1 in May, after failing to win any of their previous 11 (D2 L9). 

Los Che have only recorded consecutive wins against the Blaugrana in the competition once in the 21st century, with two victories between 2002 and 2003.

Barcelona have won their first three games in 2026-27 and have only won their first four in a top-flight campaign on one occasion since 2019-20, when Flick's men started with seven wins in 2024-25.

Valencia, meanwhile, have not won any of their three LaLiga games so far this season (D1 L2), losing their last two, and they have never suffered three consecutive defeats in the competition under manager Carlos Corberan.

And Sunday's hosts are major outsiders against a rampant Barcelona attack. While the Blaugrana are the leading scorers and have the highest shot conversion rate in LaLiga (11 goals, 20.3% conversion rate), Valencia are the league's worst side by both metrics (one, level with Celta Vigo, Getafe and Malaga, 2.8%).

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Valencia – 12.1%

Barcelona – 69.8%

Draw – 18.1%