Barcelona is preparing to face its Belgian counterpart Club Brugge this evening, Wednesday, in the fourth round of the group stage of the UEFA Champions League. In this match, the Catalan team aims to achieve its third victory in the tournament this season and regain its strong competitive identity under the leadership of coach Hans Flick.

The Spanish newspaper "Mundo Deportivo" reported that Barcelona enters the match with high morale after the impressive performance it displayed against Elche in La Liga, where the team showed clear improvement in pressure, cohesion, and attacking sharpness, aspects that the players themselves emphasized the need to maintain in the match against Club Brugge tonight.

The newspaper added that the match takes place in the city of Brugge, which holds significant historical and cultural symbolism, noting that Club Brugge is not an easy opponent as some might think, having proven on more than one occasion that it can trouble the big teams, after winning against Monaco last season with a score of 2-1, and achieving victory over Atalanta in Bergamo by the same score, while only losing to Bayern Munich in Munich with a score of four goals to nil.

The newspaper confirmed that the Barcelona team, despite its rich history and European status, is not experiencing its best period this season in terms of performance consistency, as it did not deliver a convincing display in its victory over Newcastle (2-1), and suffered a painful defeat against Paris Saint-Germain (2-1) at the Montjuïc Stadium, before achieving a wide victory over Olympiacos (6-1).

Barcelona currently has six points out of a possible nine, the same tally it had at this stage of last season, and the team is looking to restore the spirit of Hans Flick's first season, which relies on elements such as focus, discipline, and collective confidence, after the players acknowledged the importance of raising the level of self-commitment in the upcoming period.

The newspaper clarified that Flick will face the match with several significant absences, most notably Pedri, Raphinha, Gavi, Juan Garcia, and Ter Stegen. Pau Kobarci is expected to return to the starting lineup in the center instead of Ronald Araujo, while Robert Lewandowski and Dani Olmo have not fully regained their readiness to participate from the start.

The newspaper also pointed out that Flick remains cautious about including Marc Bernal in the starting lineup, as he continues to rely on the duo Marc Casado and Frenkie de Jong in midfield, despite them having received previous warnings that could lead to suspensions later.

The newspaper indicated that winning against Club Brugge will have a special significance, as it takes place in the same stadium that witnessed the official debut of the club legend Andres Iniesta in 2002, when Barcelona won against the Belgian team 1-0 with a goal from Juan Roman Riquelme, in a match that brings back special memories before Lamine Yamal, the young star of the present, was born just five years later.