Three big games at Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys

Once the international break ends, the next three FC Barcelona fixtures will all be at Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, where the ball won't have rolled for 21 days.

And they're coming hot after each other in the space of less than a week and in two different competitions.

Lions roaring into town

The first of the three in in La Liga against Athletic Club, a Sunday 9pm CEST kick-off. After being held to a draw in Granada, Barça have dropped to third behind Girona and Real Madrid in the table.

Meanwhile, the side from Bilbao have got off to a fine start and are currently fourth, just two points behind the blaugrana. Athletic are never an easy side to beat, and Barça will need to do it with a number of key players out through injury.

Champions League back

After beating both Antwerp and Porto, things are shaping up nicely for Barça in Europe, but there is still a lot of work to do. The next job is on Wednesday 25 at the earlier time of 6.45pm CEST, and the opposition will be Shakhtar Donetsk of Ukraine, who currently have one win and one defeat to their name.

The game also presents a reunion with an old friend in Dmitrò Chigrinsky, who is back playing for his former club after a spell in Greece.

Clasíco time

And after that comes one of the biggest fixtures of the season. Real Madrid are coming to the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys on Saturday 28 at 4.15pm CEST, and if it hasn't already happened, then this game should hopefully, the results of the previous week pending, present Barça with a chance to move ahead of the all-whites in the table.

It's obviously still very early in the season, and anything could happen between now and May, but matches between these two sides typically have a huge bearing on where the league trophy is ultimately going to land.