Barça-Feyenoord: Frenkie de Jong out, Eric Garcia suspended for Champions League opener

FC Barcelona will have to start their Champions League campaign without Frenkie de Jong and Eric Garcia. The Catalan club officially announced on Wednesday 9 September a squad of 23 players for the home match against Feyenoord at Spotify Camp Nou, with the Dutch midfielder sidelined by injury and the Spanish defender suspended.

De Jong, suffering from a knee injury, is continuing his recovery and was not called up by Hansi Flick. UEFA also lists him among the absentees for this opening matchday of the group stage. Eric Garcia is serving a suspension carried over from last season following his red card at Atlético Madrid in Barça’s last European game.

Roony Bardghji will also miss the match due to injury. On the other hand, the blaugrana squad includes several summer signings, such as Gabriel Jesus, Karim Adeyemi, Rodri, and Anthony Gordon, as well as Lamine Yamal, Raphinha, Pedri, Gavi, and Fermín López.

This list thus confirms forced choices in midfield and defense ahead of a match scheduled for 18h45, Central European Time. Barcelona comes into the game after four wins in four La Liga matches and a 5-0 thrashing of Valencia, but faces their European debut with two key players missing from the squad.

Feyenoord arrives unbeaten

Feyenoord arrives at Camp Nou on the back of a 19-match unbeaten streak across all competitions, according to FC Barcelona. However, the Dutch club must cope with several absences, including Jordan Bos, Jakub Moder, Bart Nieuwkoop, and Gijs Smal, all listed as unavailable by UEFA.

Barça thus begins their European campaign in a mixed context: a very positive offensive momentum in the league, but a squad already missing several key players. The match against Feyenoord is the first of eight group stage games 2026-2027, with the schedule running through to the end of January.