Welcome back, Barcelona football! After a seven-week break for the World Cup, the much-anticipated return of the Blaugrana to action takes place on Saturday afternoon in the Catalan capital with a very tough Derby against crosstown rivals Espanyol at the Spotify Camp Nou.
Every international returned over the last two weeks of training and most players are fully fit and ready to go, and Xavi Hernández won’t have too much of a selection headache when it comes to availability ahead of what is going to be a very busy post-World Cup schedule.
Barça have been notoriously bad in the first match after an international break and must find a way to reverse that trend in what is always a brutal matchup against Espanyol, even in a season where they are in the thick of the relegation battle and in desperate need of a result at Camp Nou.