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Barça will have a frenetic start to the league because of the World Cup
The start of LaLiga 2026-27 comes with an unusual schedule for football in Barcelona. Barça will have to play three matches in just eight days, a concentration of fixtures caused by adjustments resulting from the World Cup and the postponement of their league opener.
The competition will start on the weekend of 15 and 16 August, but Barça’s debut will not come then. Their first-round match against Athletic Club is postponed to Thursday 27 August at 21:00 because several Barça players took part in the final phase of the World Cup.
Before that home debut, the team will already have played the second round. Barça will visit Elche on Sunday 23 August at 21:30, in what will really be their first official match of the season. Four days later they will host Athletic and, only three days after that, play Rayo Vallecano again.
The third match will come on Sunday 30 August at Spotify Camp Nou, with the time still to be confirmed. The result is a compressed start, demanding for the squad and also for supporters, who will have to reorganise plans, tickets, travel and schedules in the height of late summer.
Espanyol will have a more spread-out start. The blanquiazules will open the season on Sunday 16 August at 19:00 at RCDE Stadium against Levante. Six days later they will host Real Madrid, on Saturday the 22nd at 21:30, in one of the most anticipated matches of the opening period.
The third round will take Espanyol away from home, visiting Real Sociedad on Saturday 29 August at 19:00. Their calendar will also be intense, but it is spread over two weeks, without the extreme accumulation Barça will face after the postponement of the first round.
For supporters, the impact will be very concrete. Barça will pack three football nights into the same week, with journeys, traffic around the stadium, family plans and spending on tickets or restaurants pressed closely together in the calendar. For Espanyol, the main focus will be the match against Real Madrid, which may set the tone for the start of the season.
The calendar gives a clear picture of how the World Cup also conditions the city’s football life. Barcelona will start LaLiga at two speeds: with Barça forced to make up dates almost all at once, and Espanyol with more room to experience the start of the season without so much accumulated pressure.