Hansi Flick is not concerned about Lamine Yamal’s failure to start the season quickly and has revealed Rodri could make his first start for Barcelona against Rayo Vallecano.
Having started their LaLiga title defence with back-to-back victories over Elche and Athletic Club, Barca welcome Rayo to Camp Nou on Monday.
Raphinha and Fermin Lopez have each scored three goals in LaLiga already this season, with Karim Adeyemi the other Barca player to find the net in the competition.
Yamal, by contrast, has cut a frustrated figure at times since returning from Spain’s triumphant World Cup campaign, failing to provide a goal involvement in the Blaugrana’s first two games despite no player creating more than his six chances (level with Raphinha).
But when asked if he had any concerns about Yamal’s demeanour, Flick said: “It’s always good for players to smile. I don’t smile every day, either.
“Everyone is conditioned by how good Lamine is. He played in the World Cup after his injury and now returns from a three-week vacation.
“Maybe he’s not at his best level, but I’m very happy with what he’s brought us in the first two games.
“Against Athletic Club, he already played 90 minutes and that is great news. You haven’t been able to see him, but today he did great in training. He’s on the right track.”
Barca introduced Rodri from the bench just past the hour mark against Athletic, having paid €76.5m (£65.4m) to sign the World Cup Golden Ball winner from Manchester City.
And Flick says the former Ballon d’Or winner could play a larger role on Monday.
See you again tomorrow, Rodri pic.twitter.com/vmyCqw19mV
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) August 30, 2026
“He’s had some problems in the last few days, but today he trained and had a really good feeling,” Flick said. “Of course he is ready to be a starter. We will see what happens.”
Barca are reportedly close to signing striker Gabriel Jesus from Arsenal ahead of the transfer window slamming shut on Tuesday, with Atletico Madrid insisting they will not sell Julian Alvarez to their domestic rivals.
Visitors Rayo have just one point on the board after their opening two matches, having started with a 2-1 defeat to Sevilla before drawing 1-1 with Alaves.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Barcelona – Raphinha
Raphinha has scored in his last three matches in LaLiga (netting five goals in total), and he could score in four consecutive games in the competition for the first time.
Furthermore, with three goals in his first two appearances in 2026-27, this is already his best start to a season in the competition since joining the Blaugrana in 2022-23.
Rayo Vallecano – Sergio Camello
Camello has scored six goals in his last eight LaLiga appearances, as many as he managed in his previous 75 games in the competition.
The 25-year-old was on target against Alaves last time out, and he will look to continue his excellent run of form at Camp Nou.
MATCH PREDICTION: BARCELONA WIN
Barcelona are on a run of 20 consecutive home wins in LaLiga, their best such streak since a run of 25 games between November 2012 and January 2014.
In addition, the Blaugrana have scored at least one goal in each of their last 32 home games in LaLiga (92 goals in total), their best such run since a streak of 34 matches between February 2018 and December 2019 under Ernesto Valverde.
And while Flick’s men have maximum points on the board this campaign, Rayo have not won either of their two LaLiga games (D1 L1) and could fail to register a victory in their opening three matches for the first time since the 2015-16 campaign under Paco Jemez (D1 L2).
Barca are unbeaten in their last four home LaLiga matches against Rayo (W3 D1), keeping clean sheets in all four. They could keep five consecutive home clean sheets against them for the first time ever.
The Catalan giants have also beaten Rayo Vallecano in four of their last five LaLiga matches (D1) after failing to win any of the previous five (D2 L3).
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Barcelona – 78.5%
Rayo Vallecano – 8.1%
Draw – 13.4%
