FC Barcelona (2nd, 19pts) vs Girona FC (17th, 6pts)
Competition/Round: 2025-26 La Liga, Matchday 9
Barcelona Outs & Doubts: Marc-André ter Stegen, Joan Garcia, Gavi, Ferran Torres, Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, Dani Olmo (out)
Girona Outs & Doubts: Donny
van de Beek, Iván Martín, Juan Carlos (out), David López, Thomas Lemar, Alejandro Francés, Azzedine Ounahi, Ricard Artero (doubt)
Date/Time: Saturday, October 18, 2025, 4.15pm CET (Barcelona), 3.15pm BST/WAT (UK & Nigeria), 10.15am ET, 7.15am PT (USA), 7.45pm IST (India)
Venue: Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, Montjuïc, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Referee: Jesús Gil Manzano
VAR: Juan Luis Pulido Santana
Following a devastating loss to Sevilla and a long and painful international break, Barcelona finally return to action with a Catalan derby against Girona in Matchday 9 of La Liga at the Montjuïc Olympic Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Barça come into this one looking to bounce back from painful defeats to Paris Saint-Germain and Sevilla and an international break filled with injuries and reports of drama off the pitch. It’s really great to just be able to watch club football again so we can forget about the BS for two hours, but Barça need three points and a good performance to help restore the good vibes after nearly three weeks of bad news.
But playing well and getting three points isn’t exactly something to take for granted this weekend: it’s easy to look at Girona’s position in the table and the fact they’ve won just once this season and assume this will be a walk in the park, but Saturday’s rivals have been better than people think recently, with a three-game unbeaten run that includes an impressive 1-1 draw away to Athletic Bilbao at San Mamés and a crucial victory over Valencia before the break that brought huge relief to coach Míchel and the entire club after a disaster start.
Girona still like to play football and are a dangerous attacking team, and have at least for now found a way to solve the defensive issues that plagued them in the first month and a half of the campaign. Míchel is finding solutions despite an injury crisis, and they’ll arrive at Montjuïc with confidence that the counter-attack threat and the pace on the wings can cause trouble to a Blaugrana backline that was seriously exposed against Sevilla.
Hansi Flick’s system has been heavily criticized recently, and it is undeniable that the coach must provide some answers after two bad losses that showed the issues run deeper than just injuries and fatigue. The suicidal high line and the offside trap are doing more harm than good, the high pressing is not nearly as effective, and there is a scary dependency on Pedri’s brilliance to create any type of meaningful, consistent offense compared to an attack that could threaten from everywhere and in every way last season.
The injuries are obviously an issue, and the absences of Raphinha and Fermín López have been particularly damaging not only due to the quality of those two but because of the spirit and intensity they bring to the game. Barça look lethargic in and out of possession right now, and must find a way to wake up and return to their best version.
Beating Girona is crucial to gain some confidence before two massive games against Olympiacos and Real Madrid, and the fact Girona like to play and attack might give Barça the necessary room to rediscover their counter-attacking prowess and find out if Girona’s defensive improvements are real or not.
While it is easy to look at the defensive issues, Barça’s attacking woes are much more concerning: this was literally the most devastating attack in Europe last season, and they won a domestic treble and were three minutes away from a Champions League Final because they could outscore anybody no matter how many goals it took.
Barça have scored just 12 goals in the last six games, and that is not enough to mitigate the inherent risk that comes with Flick’s system. Things will get a lot better if they just start scoring again, and facing an attack-minded Girona side might just give them the space needed to find the net more than just a couple of times on Saturday.
It’s time to respond and show force, even with the injuries. This is still a damn good team, and it’s up to them to prove it.
Let’s dance.
POSSIBLE LINEUPS
Barcelona (4-2-3-1): Szczesny; Kounde, Araujo, Cubarsí, Balde; Casadó, De Jong; Roony, Pedri, Fermín; Rashford
Girona (5-4-1): Gazzaniga; Rincón, Arnau, Reis, Blind, Moreno; Asprilla, Witsel, Solís, Portu; Vanat
PREDICTION
It’s really easy to get sucked into the negativity surrounding us right now, but I’m choosing to trust Flick and his team’s ability to respond to challenges: 3-1 Barça.
