Barcelona open Champions League vs Feyenoord

Barcelona start their Champions League campaign against Feyenoord at the Spotify Camp Nou, four wins from four in La Liga and 17 goals scored against just two conceded.

Hansi Flick's side go into the tie as heavy favourites. The Dutch side have won three and drawn two of their five league games, scoring 13, but have kept only one clean sheet, and their defensive record makes them a stern early test on a night that Barcelona should be expected to control.

Barcelona have managed the change from a squad shorn of both Ferran Torres and Robert Lewandowski without missing a step in front of goal.

Eric Garcia is suspended and Frenkie de Jong injured, but Flick otherwise has a full squad to choose from.

Feyenoord arrive under Gio van Bronckhorst, who played left-back in the Barcelona side that beat Arsenal in Paris to win the 2006 European Cup under Frank Rijkaard. His squad includes Shaqueel van Persie, son of former Arsenal forward Robin van Persie, and the left-footed centre-back Mika Marmol, a Barcelona academy product who has been linked with a return, valued for his composure on the ball.

Group-stage draws have not been kind to Barcelona this season. Taking three points off Feyenoord carries weight beyond the opening night given what follows.

Barcelona have not won the competition since 2014-15 and have reached the quarter-finals in each of Flick's three seasons in charge without going further, falling to Inter Milan two seasons ago and to Atletico Madrid last term. The belief inside the club, by all accounts, is that a settled high defensive line and a midfield playing with more control than before give this squad a genuine chance of breaking that ceiling.

A win against Feyenoord would give Flick's side an ideal start to a group phase that only gets harder from here.