Barcelona couldn’t have had a better start to their 2026/27 season, with their eight consecutive wins in all competitions setting a new club record.
Not even the great Cruyff or Guardiola teams managed such a feat, and without a recognised centre-forward to boot, that really is something worth celebrating for Hansi Flick and Co.
This October is certainly going to sort the men out from the boys, however.
In the space of 21 days, Barca will play Getafe, Real Betis, Real Madrid and Alaves in the league,
as well as Galatasaray and current Champions League holders, Paris Saint-Germain.
Thankfully, there don’t appear to be too many issues for the club’s medical team to deal with as a result of this international break, and if Flick doesn’t have a full-strength squad to choose from, he’ll have as near as possible.
Given that Barca have suffered badly because of injuries while players have been away on international duty before, that’s a real bonus.
Given the strength of opposition and the travelling required in the middle of the month, Flick has arguably got to call upon the entire squad to be fit and raring to go.
A home game against Getafe opens the month before three difficult away games in a row against Galatasaray, Betis and PSG.
While the results are clearly important, by the time that El Clasico comes around on October 25, it will be Barca’s fifth game in 15 days, so how the squad is managed in terms of minutes etc is absolutely vital.
No league was ever won in October, of course, but with so many games this month, should Barca’s good form continue, they could put a real marker down in the league if they edge further ahead.
Given just how well the blaugranes were playing before the break, it’ll be interesting to see whether having their rhythm broken begins to cause them issues.
There’s always likely to be a dip at some point in any event, and if Barca are going to wobble, perhaps having one now is preferable to during the business end of the season.
At least no opponent can be under any illusion that they are playing the most in-form team in Europe, and if they are going to take points off Barca, they’ll have to work harder than ever to do so.
In order to be able to do that, Barca will have to ease off the accelerator, and there doesn’t appear to be any chance of Flick allowing his players to take it easy.
The businesslike quality with which they’ve approached every game so far has served them well, so why change a winning formula?
Strap yourselves in…
