FC Barcelona (2nd, 28pts) vs Athletic Club Bilbao (7th, 17pts)
Competition/Round: 2025-26 La Liga, Matchday 13
Barcelona Outs & Doubts: Marc-André ter Stegen, Gavi, Pedri, Frenkie de Jong (out), Marcus Rashford (doubt)
Athletic Outs & Doubts: Iñaki Williams, Maroan Sannadi, Beñat Prados, Unai Eguiluz (out)
Date/Time: Saturday, November 22, 2025, 4.15pm CET/WAT (Barcelona & Nigeria), 3.15pm GMT (UK), 10.15am ET, 7.15am PT (USA), 8.45pm IST (India)
Venue: Spotify Camp Nou, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Referee: José María Sánchez Martínez
VAR: Daniel Jesús Trujillo Suárez
How to watch on TV: ESPN Deportes (USA), SuperSport (Nigeria), others
How to watch online: ESPN+ (USA), LaLigaTV (UK), FanCode (India), DAZN (Spain), others
The final international break of 2025 lasted exactly four hundred and thirty nine weeks, but it is finally over and with it comes one of the most anticipated days in the history of FC Barcelona as the club returns to the Greatest Stadium on Earth to face Athletic Bilbao in La Liga action on Saturday afternoon.
Barça will play a match at the Spotify Camp Nou for the first time in 909 days, after two and a half years of work and many, many, many, many, many, many delays. It’s been a very frustrating waiting game and the renovations are nowhere near complete, but 45,000 fans will be in attendance on Saturday to witness Barça’s return to their iconic home which will be one of the most spectacular sports venues in the world once the work is done in a few years.
For now, though, the return to Camp Nou, even an incomplete one, has many, many advantages: Barça’s finances will get a big boost as the expensive Montjuïc Olympic Stadium no longer needs to be rented and maintained at the club’s cost, but the real boost is to the atmosphere: Montjuïc never felt like a real home or even a temporary one, and Barça played mostly away matches for two and a half years straight with very few exceptions, like El Clasico and a few high-profile Champions League games.
The 45,000 fans at Camp Nou will be a lot closer to the pitch than the 55,000 at Montjuïc, and that alone makes a huge difference. Camp Nou also has much easier access, and is Camp Freaking Nou. This is Barça’s home, plain and simple, and listening to that legendary anthem again as the players take the field will be an unforgettable experience for those lucky to be there and those watching from afar.
There will be a ton of pre-match festivities and a very special ceremonial kickoff planned, but there is also a very important game to be played. Barça got a big win away to Celta Vigo and looked amazing in the second half two weeks ago, and also cut Real Madrid’s lead to three points in the process. Barça can temporarily return to top spot in the table on goal difference if they win this one, and can once again put some pressure on their biggest rivals in the early stages of the title race.
Ernesto Valverde’s Athletic have had a very inconsistent season mostly due to injuries but are starting to get healthier, and would love nothing more than to spoil Barça’s homecoming party. They have the talent, they have the resilience, and they have Nico Williams, who will definitely be hungry to put on a show after infamously rejecting Barça in the summer.
Rarely does a November La Liga game feel this big, but Barça are returning to Camp Nou. It really is happening this time. And we’re all ready to enjoy it. Let’s hope the players are too.
Let’s fucking dance.
POSSIBLE LINEUPS
Barcelona (4-3-3): Garcia; Kounde, Cubarsí, Eric, Balde; Fermín, Casadó, Olmo; Yamal, Lewandowski, Ferran
Athletic (4-2-3-1): Simón; Gorosabel, Vivian, Laporte, Berchiche; De Galarreta, Jauregizar; Berenguer, Sancet, N. Williams; Guruzeta
PREDICTION
This will be such an emotional occasion for the club that the team might actually struggle a bit to handle all of the wonderful feelings all around them, but I still think there’s just no way Barça won’t win on their return to Camp Nou: 3-1 to the home team.
