FC Barcelona (6th, 3pts) vs Athletic Club (19th, 0pts)
Competition/Round: 2026-27 La Liga, Matchday 1
Barcelona Outs & Doubts: Marc Casadó, Roony Bardghji, Frenkie de Jong (out), Gavi (doubt)
Athletic Outs & Doubts: Unai Eguiluz, Yuri Berchiche (out), Andoni Gorosabel, Dani Vivian, Beñat Prados, Maroan Sannadi (doubt)
Date/Time: Thursday, August 27, 2026, 9pm CET (Barcelona), 8pm BST/WAT (UK & Nigeria), 3pm ET, 12pm PT (USA), 12.30am IST (India, Friday)
Venue: Camp Nou, Barcelona, Catalunya, Spain
Referee: Miguel Ángel Ortiz Arias
VAR: Jorge Figueroa Vázquez
How to watch on TV: ESPN Deportes (USA), Premier Sports 2 (UK), SuperSport (Nigeria), others
How to watch online: ESPN+ (USA), Premier Sports Player (UK), FanCode (India), DAZN (Spain), others
Following a great win over Elche to start the new season with a bang, the reigning back-to-back champions of La Liga begin the home portion of their campaign as Barcelona welcome historic rivals Athletic Bilbao to Camp Nou on Thursday night.
This was supposed to be the opening match of the season but was postponed due to Spain’s run to the World Cup Final, which involved players from both teams and caused their meeting to be rescheduled.
Barça will play their first home game of the season, and the Blaugrana made history last year by becoming the first team in the history of La Liga to win every single home game in a 38-game season. It was a glorious record boosted by the return to their iconic home, and it’s a beautiful piece of symmetry that Barça’s first home opponent this season is the same Athletic side that faced Barça in their return to Camp Nou last November.
The Blaugrana won 4-0 that day with a wonderful attacking display, and they’ll be hoping for a repeat of that performance to continue the momentum from the quality victory away to Elche. Athletic lost their opener in painful fashion to Sevilla, who won at San Mamés in a game that was changed completely by an early red card for the hosts.
It was a tough debut for new manager Edin Terzic, who took over from Ernesto Valverde in the summer after spending his entire coaching career so far at Borussia Dortmund. He brings a style of play very similar to Valverde and was chosen for his ability to work with young players, which is crucial for a club like Athletic who rely so heavily on their academy due to their unique Basque-only transfer policy.
Terzic’s debut was spoiled by Yuri Berchiche’s early sending off, and the first major test of the season is already here with a trip to Camp Nou. Terzic was a bold coach who always thought about attacking with Dortmund even in tough away games, and it’ll be interesting to see if he’ll remain as committed to an offensive gameplan away to Barça, something his predecessor really struggled with.
Barça are in good spirits ahead of this one and will get a big boost with the expected debut of Rodri, who according to Hansi Flick will get minutes in the second half and make his first appearance in a Barça shirt in front of the home crowd.
The Blaugrana will be favorites for this one but Athletic can never be taken for granted, and Terzic will be hungry to show his credentials as a coach by pulling off an upset at the Catalan capital.
Let’s dance.
POSSIBLE LINEUPS
Barcelona (4-3-3): Joan; Eric, Cubarsí, Martín, Espart; Fermín, Bernal, Pedri; Yamal, Raphinha, Adeyemi
Athletic (4-2-3-1): Simón; Areso, Yeray, Paredes, Berenguer; Jauregizar, Canales; I. Williams, Sancet, N. Williams; Guruzeta
PREDICTION
Athletic are a bit of an enigma coming into this one given their new coach, but they’re still very talented and should give Barça a tough test. But I’m still betting on the good guys anyway: 3-1 to the home team.
