thomas vermaelen

Barça face BATE Borisov this Wednesday at Camp Nou at 8.45pm CET in the knowledge that a win against the side from Belarus could put them through to the knock out stages for the 12th season in a row should AS Roma fail to beat Bayer 04 Leverkusen in the other Group E fixture. The Belarusians are currently in third place in the group on 3 points, one behind second placed Bayer and so still have hope of making it to the last 16 themselves. Luis Enrique is focused on just one objective for side at Camp Nou: "The goal is to qualify, and do it as first in the group. The groups are competitive, and anything can happen. But as the defending champions we must send a message that we are ready.” Javier Mascherano will be available even though he is currently one match into a two game domestic ban in La Liga, and Andrés Iniesta, recently recovered from injury, should be in the squad as well. 

A goal from Vermaelen enough to give Barça victory in their first home league game of the season on a frustrating evening at Camp Nou. FC Barcelona gave a masterclass in sticking to the task and never giving up with a narrow victory over a dogged Málaga side. Thomas Vermaelen was the hero of the hour, the Belgian’s first ever goal for Barça in the second half enough to maintain the blaugranes’ 100 per cent record at the start of this 2015/16 league season.

Barça’s 2-0 win at the weekend in the Catalan derby against Espanyol kept them two points ahead of rivals Real Madrid at the top of the Spanish League table with just five games in the league season remaining. The first of that quintet of title deciders comes on Tuesday against Getafe at Camp Nou, a game that kicks off at 8.00pm CET. The blaugranes cannot afford any slip ups with Carlo Ancelotti’s side breathing down their necks, so victory is imperative at home against the team from Madrid who come into the game in 13th place on 36 points, still needing results to lift them once and for all away from the relegation dogfight at the bottom of the table.

Barça are just a possible 90 minutes away from a place in the semi-finals of this season’s Champions League. Standing between them and the last four are a PSG side who will have to overcome a 3-1 deficit from the first leg if they are to upset the odds and take their place in Friday’s draw in Nyon, Switzerland. The blaugranes trained on Monday for the final time before the second leg against the French League champions with Iniesta having received the medical all clear. The midfielder is included among 23 players named for the match. Jérémy Mathieu trained on his own in Barça’s final session after picking up a knock against Valencia on Saturday, but he is also included, as are Dani Alves, who missed the win in Paris due to suspension and Thomas Vermaelen, despite not receiving medical clearance.

The draw for the Champions League quarter-finals brought the blaugranes face to face once again with the current French League champions. The two teams were in the same group earlier in the competition with Barça pipping Laurent Blanc’s team to top spot in Group F. With the Catalans having overcome Manchester City in the last 16 and Paris Saint-Germain having eliminated Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea, the two clubs are now set to battle it out for a place in the Champions League semi-finals. Luis Enrique’s side trained at the Parc des Princes on Tuesday with the Barça coach having brought his entire squad to Paris minus the recovering Thomas Vermaelen and the suspended Dani Alves. Paris Saint-Germain coach Laurent Blanc will have to make do without the former Barça striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

The two sides meet in El Madrigal in the second leg of their Spanish Cup semi-final on Wednesday evening (20h CET). The blaugranes have the upper hand in the tie following their 3-1 win in the first leg last month at Camp Nou. In addition, Barça have the advantage in their Champions League last 16 tie against Manchester City following their 2-1 win at the Etihad Stadium. Their 3-1 away victory in the Spanish League at the weekend over Granada has allowed them to cut Real Madrid’s lead at the top of the league to just two points. Now, only Villarreal stand between them and a 36^th appearance in the Spanish Cup final. Coach Luis Enrique has his entire first team squad available with the exception of the injured Thomas Vermaelen.

It’s no final, but Tuesday night’s game with Ajax is still of crucial importance for FC Barcelona following the 3-2 defeat in Paris a fortnight ago. Barça need three points at the Camp Nou to stay in contention for top spot in Group F of the Champions League. And there is the dangerous distraction of the visit to the Santiago Bernabéu for Saturday’s Liga match against Real Madrid, although Luis Enrique insisted in his pre-match conference that “right now the only important game is the one with Ajax.” There will be four days to think about Real Madrid after that, but the Champions League is the main priority for the moment.

Barça are about to get their 2014/15 Champions League bid under way against APOEL of Nicosia at the Camp Nou. Top of the Liga table with three wins out of three and no goals conceded, they’re in a buoyant mood at the moment, and now’s the time to carry that excellent form across into Europe against the Cypriot champions, the first game in a group that also includes Ajax and Paris Saint-Germain. Luis Enrique has called on the fans for their support and promised a "spectacular game". This will be the Asturian’s first game in charge of a team in Europe’s premier club competition, for which Dani Alves is included after being declared fully recovered from his knee injury, and fellow Brazilian Douglas has been named in the side for the first time since arriving at FC Barcelona.

La Festa del Gamper will climax with the presentation of the squad and the match against Mexican side Club León on Monday evening (20.30 CET). The game gives the fans a chance to see the FC Barcelona's new summer signings. Bravo, Masip, Ter Stegen, Mathieu, Vermaelen, Rafinha, Rakitic and  Luis Suárez, who will be making his first appearance in a Barça shirt after re-joining the squad for training last Friday. Five of those new players -Bravo, Masip, Mathieu, Rakitic and Luis Suárez-, could make their Camp Nou debuts as Barça players against Leon, whilst the injured Ter Stegen and Vermaelen will have to wait. Rafinha played for the first team at the stadium when he was still a Barça B player.

Thomas Vermaelen is officially a Barça player after signing a five year deal at the Club on Sunday morning. Vermaelen was accompanied at the signing by the Catalan club President Josep Maria Bartomeu and Sporting Vice-Oresident Jordi Mestre. The Belgian defender passed his medical on Saturday and was presented on the Camp Nou pitch on Sunday  morning, with a press conference. Speaking at his presentation, Vermaelen explained: "I feel ready to play here - I think I can offer a lot to this club". "It's up to me to show what I can do here", he added. The cost of the deal with Arsenal is €10 million, with a further €5 million in performance bonuses and €3.8 million if the team win the Champions League. The Belgian defender’s buyout clause is set at €80 million.