Matchday in focus: FC Barcelona | OneFootball

A Catalan club steeped in tradition, a coach who won three trophies in his first season and a team whose inconsistent Champions League results contrast with their league dominance.

The opponents

Barcelona have been among Europe’s biggest clubs for over a century. Founded on 29 November 1899 – the same year as Eintracht Frankfurt – the club colours of blue and garnet red not only define the kit but also represent Catalan identity. With the motto “Més que un club” (“More than a club”), FCB emphasises that the club is about more than just sporting success – it's a part of the culture and history of Catalonia.

As for the team, Barcelona are one of the most established clubs both nationally and internationally, with a list of honours that includes 28 La Liga titles, 32 Copa del Rey wins and 15 Spanish Super Cup crowns as well as four UEFA Champions League titles, one European Cup triumph, five successes in the UEFA Cup and four in the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup. On top of that, a long list of great names from the football world – on the pitch and in the dugout. 

The coach

The coach’s bench is currently occupied by a German. Hans-Dieter-Flick has been in charge of Barça since summer 2024 and led the Catalans to the domestic treble of the league, cup and Super Cup in his first year.

Tactics

In the current campaign, the 60-year-old has used either a 4-3-3 formation with one defensive midfielder and two attacking midfielders, or a 4-2-3-1 with a double pivot and a number ten.

Form

The attacking trio of Ferran Torres, Lamine Yamal and Marcus Rashford impressed in the 5-3 win at Real Betis on Saturday evening, with Torres bagging a hat-trick, Yamal netting once and Rashford registering his 10thassist in all competitions this season.

On the whole, it’s been a highly promising start to the 2025/26 campaign for Barça. Flick’s side lead the La Liga table with 40 points from 16 matches and have won their last six league games, with the last loss coming in El Clásico away to Real Madrid in October (2-1). With 47 goals scored, Barcelona also boast the most prolific attack in the league. They create four big chances per game on average and score around 2.8 goals.

However, it’s also worth nothing that as this calendar year draws to a close, no team have conceded three or more goals in more matches across all competitions in 2025 than the Spanish champions. Again in Seville on Saturday, Flick’s men let in three, as they also did in their last two outings in the Champions League against Chelsea and Club Brugge – losing 3-0 in London and drawing 3-3 in Belgium. Their position in the league phase of Europe’s premier club competition looks rather different to that in the domestic league: two wins, one draw and two defeats see Barça sitting in 18th place with seven points.

The stadium

Barcelona's home ground is Camp Nou. The legendary stadium is currently undergoing its most extensive modernisation since it was built: a roof is being installed all around and capacity is being increased from 99,000 to 105,000 seats. The meeting with Eintracht will be the first European fixture at Camp Nou since the reconstruction began – initially with a reduced capacity of 45,401.  

Head-to-head

Frankfurt have met Barcelona competitively on two previous occasions, both in the quarter-finals of the 2021/22 UEFA Europa League. The first leg in Germany ended 1-1, followed by a historic 3-2 victory for the Eagles in the second leg which sent them through to the semis.