Barcelona vs Athletic: a festive Saturday for Barça on their return to the Spotify Camp Nou

Published New:22/11/2025 - 01:19h

Updated New:22/11/2025 - 16:23h

Hansi Flick's Barça hosts Athletic for LaLiga Matchday 13. The Catalans return to Spotify Camp Nou 909 days later in search of 3 points that will temporarily return them to the top spot

Hansi Flick's FC Barcelona will play their first official match at the Spotify Camp Nou 909 days after the stadium's temporary closure for complete renovation. The return to the temple took a year longer than initially planned, but the TORNEM A CASA (WE ARE COMING HOME) celebration occurs just before the club's 126th anniversary and on the cusp of the decisive first part of the season

Barça will play a total of nine matches in the last month of competition this 2025, four of them in the League. On matchday 13, the opponent will be Ernesto Valverde's Athletic Club, a team that is not going through its best moment and has gone more than two decades without winning in Catalonia.

The Basques have only managed one win in their last four tournament appearances and have fallen to 7th place with 17 points. The Catalans, on the other hand, can temporarily return to the top spot with a victory, awaiting what Real Madrid does on Sunday against Elche. For now, there are 3 points separating them

📺 Where and when to watch the match: the channels broadcasting Barcelona-Athletic WATCH

Barça wants a full party on their return to Spotify Camp Nou

On Saturday, more than 45,000 culers will welcome the team back to Spotify Camp Nou. **The club preferred to wait for the Lateral to be ready** to reopen the stadium for both La Liga and Champions League matches, thus having a capacity similar to that of Montjuïc.

After almost a year and a half in the 'magic mountain', Barça returns home against a rival they have dominated in recent years. With Flick on the bench, the azulgranas have a perfect record of victories against Athletic in three appearances, with a balance of 7 goals for and only 1 against.

The team also turned the page after the defeat in the **Clásico** (2-1) and the slip-up in **Bruges** (3-3) with clear victories against Elche (3-1) and Celta (2-4), the latter without defensive troubles in the second half. Valverde's team, on the other hand, has already lost in five league matches and three Champions League appearances. Furthermore, they haven't won in Catalonia since 2001

LAST 5 MATCHES OF BARÇA AND ATHLETIC
R	BARÇA	ATHLETIC	R
W 🟢	2-4 vs Celta	1-0 vs Oviedo	L 🟢
D🟡	3-3 vs Brujas	2-0 vs Newcastle	W 🔴
W 🟢	3-1 vs Elche	3-2 vs R. Sociedad	W 🔴
L 🔴	2-1 vs R. Madrid	0-1 vs Getafe	L 🔴
W 🟢	6-1 vs Olympiacos	3-1 vs Qarabag	W 🟢

*Champions League Match
H: Home
A: Away
N: Neutral

The 'lions' have struggled to score in the 25/26 season (they have scored 16 goals in the same number of matches), due to the physical problems of their main stars, the Williams brothers and Oihan Sancet. On Saturday, only Iñaki will be absent, but Nico is still far from his best version due to osteitis pubis.

ℹ️ List of called-up players: the players called up by Hansi Flick for Barcelona-Athletic: SEE

Flick recovers Raphinha and Joan García for the Athletic match

For matchday 13 of LaLiga, Hansi Flick welcomes back two key players: **Raphinha and Joan García**. Both were injured in Oviedo on September 25th, and in the case of the goalkeeper, he is expected to be the starter. Szczesny, although he didn't do a bad job, receivedRapha, for his part, must play 15-20 minutes in the second half. **Marcus Rashford** did a great job covering the left flank of the attack during the Brazilian's absence, but the '14' could be a substitute on Saturday after missing the last two training sessions due to a fever.

In that regard, it is likely that Ferran Torres will accompany Lamine Yamal and Robert Lewandowski in the offensive trident. There will also be adjustments in midfield, following the injury absence of Pedri and the suspension that Frenkie de Jong must serve

Marc Casadó, who was dropped from the starting XI at the last minute against Celta, should start alongside Fermín López and Dani Olmo, who played as an inside forward at Balaídos. In defense, Balde and Koundé should occupy the flanks, while Eric and Cubarsí are expected to be the center-backs again.

👉 Lineups: the probable starting XIs for FC Barcelona and Athletic Club: SEE

Barça can regain the lead in LaLiga on matchday 13

The Athletic, on the other hand, will also once again have **Oihan Sancet and Nico Williams**, the latter probably the subject of loud whistles throughout the match after a second consecutive summer flirting with signing for Barça.

Ernesto Valverde will have a majority of his starting players available, prior to the Champions League visit to Slavia Prague. The Barcelona team will also travel to London on Tuesday to face Chelsea, but all eyes are on winning at home on Saturday

The Cules hope to experience a complete celebration upon returning to Spotify Camp Nou and, furthermore, to regain the league lead for the first time since matchday 8. If Real Madrid loses on their visit to Elche and Barça does their homework against Athletic, there will be a new leader in the tournament, as the goal difference favors the Catalans.