Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images The Catalans return home for a must-win to stay top of the table Barcelona return home after a successful Champions League trip to Dortmund and must move on quickly to a very important La Liga game against struggling Leganés, as the Catalans look to improve their league form after dropping points in four of their last five games. Barça could very well find themselves in second place at kickoff if Real Madrid win their match on Saturday, and must pick up all three points against a relegation canddiate to return to the top of the table ahead of a monster clash ..read more

Photo by Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images The draw was made on Friday The draw for the European qualifying groups for the 2026 FIFA World Cup took place on Friday with a host of Barcelona players discovering their opponents. Barca have a large Spanish contingent but still have to play Frenkie de Jong’s Netherlands in the Nations League quarter-finals first. The result of that match will determine which group they go into. Should Spain with the game they will drop into Group E and will face Turkey, Georgia and Bulgaria in World Cup qualifying. However, if the Dutch emerge victo ..read more

Photo by Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images The teams meet on Sunday Ronald Araujo ready to return Barcelona host Leganes on Sunday and could be set to welcome back Ronald Araujo after a long spell out with injury. Araujo hasn’t played for Barca this season, after undergoing surgery in the summer, but was passed fit ahead of the Dortmund game and travelled to Germany. The defender did not feature but Flick had already hinted that Barca had planned for Araujo to return against Leganes and you can just bet he’s desperate to play on Sunday. His return is well-timed as Barca’s backl ..read more

Photo by Martin Silva Cosentino/NurPhoto via Getty Images Another suspension Barcelona Atletic coach Albert Sanchez has joined first-team boss Hansi Flick in being handed a touchline ban. While Flick is set to watch Barcelona’s next two games, against Leganes and Atletico Madrid, from the stands - Sanchez will be out for considerably longer. Diario Sport are reporting he’s been hit with a hefty four-game touchline ban for his behaviour last time out against Celta Fortuna. Sanchez has been sanctioned for “confronting and insulting the fourth official” at the end of the game that resulted in a 2 ..read more

Photo by Eric Verhoeven/Soccrates/Getty Images He will not be on the touchline for Leganes or Atletico Barcelona’s appeal against Hansi Flick’s two-match ban has been dismissed, meaning the coach will be forced into the stands for the team’s next two games. Flick was shown a red card and subsequently sanctioned with a ban for “protesting to the main referee(s), the assistants or the fourth referee(s)” after Frenkie de Jong had been penalised for a foul on Vitor Roque. Barcelona did appeal the decision to ban Flick but the suspension has been upheld and he will not be on the touchline against L ..read more

Photo by Sebastian Widmann - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images The GOAT is a big fan Lionel Messi has made his admiration for Lamine Yamal clear after seeing the wonderkid star for Spain and Barcelona. Yamal has had to put up with plenty of comparisons with Messi during his career, and the GOAT thinks that Barca’s latest superstar is the real deal. “There is a generation of very good young footballers who have many years ahead of them,” he said at an adidas event in Germany. “But if I have to choose someone, because of his age and the future he has, I have heard that they have chosen Lamine Yamal an ..read more

Photo by Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images Good news Andreas Christensen and Ansu Fati were both back in training with Barcelona on Friday as the duo close in on comebacks from injury Fati has been out of action for several weeks since picking up a hamstring injury during training last month. However, he was back with his team-mates on Friday as Hansi Flick’s side prepare for their final two La Liga games of the season against Leganes and Atletico Madrid. Fati will now be doing his best to try and convince Flick to hand him some minutes during what’s turning out to be another f ..read more

Photo by Linnea Rheborg - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images A round-up of the latest Barcelona news and rumors Recovery session in Germany - FC Barcelona Following the 3-2 win at Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday, the players stayed the night in Germany, and before flying home early on Thursday afternoon, they visited the host club's BVB Training Centre in Brackel for a recovery and compensation session. BY THE NUMBERS; Victory in Dortmund - FC Barcelona Raphinha and Ferran Torres (2) scored the goals as FC Barcelona beat last season's Champions League finalists at their own Signal Iduna Park, a result ..read more

Photo by Timothy Rogers/Getty Images A transfer looks unlikely Jonathan David got the rumor mill all excited recently by admitting he was a boyhood Barcelona fan who had always dreamed of playing for the club. The Lille hotshot is expected to move on in the sumer, as he’s out of contract, leading to plenty of speculation that Barcelona could be a good destination. Yet the latest updates from Spain suggest that it’s a move that’s unlikely to happen - even though Barca think it’s a good market opportunity - because the club have plenty of doubts about David. The main sticking point seems to be t ..read more

Photo by Pau Barrena/Getty Images Is it enough for him to be the club’s new number one? Iñaki Peña has performed much better this season than last season, and has grown during the course of the term. In the past, I said it was time to move on from him and pursue a new, young goalkeeper who could be the team’s #1. With the signing of Wojciech Szczęsny, some of us expected that Peña would become the backup after Marc-André ter Stegen’s injury. But that has not been the case. Peña is preferred despite being probably not as good a shot-stopper as “Tek,” because he is better with the ball at his fe ..read more