Barcelona have made a strong start to the defence of their La Liga crown and should be able to build up a head of steam with some very winnable fixtures after the international break.
Xavi's side have won three of their four La Liga matches so far this season, but have not necessarily done things the easy way.
A goalless draw with Getafe on the opening day was followed by a 2-0 win at home to Cadiz thanks to late goals from Gavi and Ferran Torres. A bonkers 4-3 win over Villarreal saw them surrender an early two-goal lead before completing a comeback of their own in the second-half, and a late Robert Lewandowski penalty was needed to see off Osasuna just before the international break.
Xavi will be hoping Barcelona's next six fixtures are a little more straightforward.
Barcelona vs Real Betis - La Liga
Barcelona have an incredibly strong record against Real Betis and have won nine of the last ten meetings between the sides, including doing the double over Manuel Pellegrini's men last campaign. There will likely be a winner one way or the other - the two sides have only drawn one of their last 20 La Liga encounters.
This has also proven to be a fiery fixture in the past with a red card having been brandished in five of the last 11 matches between the sides.
- 16/09/23 - Barcelona vs Real Betis (20:00)
Barcelona vs Royal Antwerp - Champions League
Barcelona's return to European football kicks off on 19 September with a favourable home tie against Royal Antwerp. Qualification from their Champions League group should be straightforward having been drawn against Porto and Shakhtar Donetsk alongside the Belgians, but their recent European record is pretty poor.
Barcelona have exited the Champions League at the group stage in the past two seasons and have endured a series of disastrous results previously, including an 8-2 defeat to Bayern Munich and implosions against Liverpool and Roma. It's time for that run to come to an end.
Surprisingly, Barcelona have indeed faced Royal Antwerp in the past, playing them twice in the 1965/66 Fairs Cup. They lost the first tie 2-1 but managed to turn it around with a 2-0 win in the second.
- 19/09/23 - Barcelona vs Royal Antwerp (20:00)
Barcelona vs Celta Vigo - La Liga
A third successive home game in all competitions, Barcelona welcome Celta Vigo to Catalonia on 23 September.
Rafa Benitez's side have not made the best start to the season, but a 3-2 win over Almeria in their most recent match will give them a glimmer of hope travelling to Barcelona. They did beat La Blaugrana last season, but Xavi's side will still be strong favourites.
The departure of Celta's starlet Gabri Veiga, who scored a brace against Barcelona last season, will also offer the defending champions even more hope of a comfortable victory.
- 23/09/23 - Barcelona vs Celta Vigo (17:30)
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Mallorca vs Barcelona - La Liga
Another fixture in which history favours Barcelona, Xavi's side head into this game having beaten Mallorca in their last 11 matches. In fact, you have to go all the way back to 2009 for the last time that Mallorca got three points against La Blaugrana, with Barcelona boasting a front three of Bojan, Pedro and Samuel Eto'o on that occasion.
Barcelona eased past Mallorca in both fixtures last season, winning both comfortably without conceding. Given Mallorca have only picked up two points from their opening four matches this year, Xavi's men should win this one at a canter.
- 26/09/23 - Mallorca vs Barcelona (20:30)
Barcelona vs Sevilla - La Liga
Rather surprisingly, last season's Europa League winners Sevilla find themselves rock bottom of La Liga's table, albeit having played one game fewer than most teams in the league.
Defeats to Valencia, Alaves and Girona have left them pointless from their first three, but some of their players have had a significant rest already given their clash with Atletico Madrid just before the international break was suspended due to 'exceptional' levels of rain.
Confidence will not be high when they travel to Catalonia, especially given they have lost five of their last six against La Blaugrana. Maybe the return of Barcelona's old adversary Sergio Ramos can change the mood in Seville, but it should be another comfortable win for Xavi's men.
- 29/09/23 - Barcelona vs Sevilla (20:00)
Porto vs Barcelona - Champions League
Barcelona's first away match of the Champions League group stage offers a trip to Porto. The two sides don't have much recent history, with their last clash coming in the UEFA Super Cup back in 2011 - a game Barcelona won 2-0.
Including that Super Cup, the two sides have faced one another eight times before, with Barcelona winning five to Porto's three.
Porto have won three of their opening four Primeira Liga matches at the time of writing and will justifiably see themselves as favourites to qualify alongside Barcelona.
- 04/10/23 - Porto vs Barcelona (20:00)
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This article was originally published on 90min as When do Barcelona play next? Next six games after international break.
