Barcelona Schedule 2019-20: La Liga Fixtures Released

Barcelona will kick off their 2019-20 La Liga campaign against Athletic Bilbao at the San Mames Stadium on August 18.

La Liga announced the schedule on Thursday (h/t AS).

The defending champions will then face Real Betis in their second match, while they will conclude their season with a trip to Alaves on May 24.

They'll take on Catalan derby rivals Espanyol on January 5 and May 10.

Here's the complete La Liga schedule, followed by a closer look at the dates for some of their key matches in the upcoming campaign.

Barcelona vs. Real Madrid

Barcelona vs. Real Madrid, October 27

Real Madrid vs. Barcelona, March 1

El Clasico is La Liga's showpiece fixture, and Barcelona's meetings with Real Madrid are typically their most important domestic matches each season with the pair usually going head-to-head for the title.

Barca have dominated the fixture in recent years, particularly in La Liga, having picked up 14 wins from their last 22 meetings to Real's four.

The Catalan giants did the double over them last season with a 5-1 win at the Camp Nou and a 1-0 win at the Santiago Bernabeu, as well as knocking them out of the Copa del Rey semi-final over two legs.

In the process, they made Clasico history:

Barca finished 19 points clear of Los Blancos last season after a disastrous campaign for the latter, who began the season with Julen Lopetegui in charge and ended it with Zinedine Zidane, with a stint in the dugout from Santiago Solari in between.

Zidane has delivered Real's only La Liga title win since 2012, and after an overhaul this summer, they've brought in Eden Hazard and Luka Jovic, so they might be more of a force in the title race this season.

If that's the case, El Clasico will take on even more significance.

Barcelona vs. Atletico Madrid

Atletico Madrid vs. Barcelona, December 1

Barcelona vs. Atletico Madrid, April 22

Barca's other main rival for the title is likely to be Atletico Madrid, who finished second to them last season.

Like their city rivals, Atletico have not had much joy against Barcelona in recent years.

Since Diego Simeone took charge of Los Rojiblancos in 2011, Atleti have picked up just two wins against the Blaugrana, and neither came in La Liga:

His side are not helped by their tendency to go down to 10 men while playing Barcelona:

Ernesto Valverde's men took four points from their La Liga fixtures with Atletico last season on their way to taking the title by 11 points.

Though they could have won the title even if they had lost both games with Los Rojiblancos, it will be important to pick up positive results against their closest rivals next season.