Monaco return to the UEFA Champions League after five years away with a home game against Barcelona.

The French side have not featured in the competition proper since making their ninth appearance in 2018/19. Their Spanish visitors, meanwhile, last missed out in 2003/04 and returned to the knockout rounds in 2023/24 having been eliminated in the group stage in each of the two previous seasons – although their campaign was eventually ended by French opponents.

Previous meetings

1993/94 UEFA Champions League group stage

Barcelona 2-0 Monaco

A first-half double from Txiki Begiristain (16, 27) gave Barcelona 2-0 win at the Camp Nou on 8 December 1993 – the Spanish side's first-ever group victory in their second game in the Champions League proper.

Monaco 0-1 Barcelona

Hristo Stoichkov's 13th-minute strike at the Stade Louis II gave Barcelona first place in Group A – and sealed progress to the semi-finals – on ten points, three more than runners-up Monaco, who also progressed.

Although those were the sides' only competitive fixtures, Monaco were 3-0 winners in a friendly on 18 August this year, Hansi Flick's home debut as Barcelona coach. Lamine Camara, Breel Embolo and Christian Mawissa scored the goals.

Form guide

Monaco

Record vs Spanish clubs: W9 D5 L10 F37 A35

Home record vs Spanish clubs: W7 D3 L2

Monaco last faced Spanish opposition in the 2021/22 UEFA Europa League group stage, drawing 1-1 at Real Sociedad before a 2-1 home win.

The Ligue 1 side have won seven of their last nine fixtures at home to La Liga visitors, the only defeat in that run a 1-2 loss against Atlético de Madrid in the 2018/19 Champions League group stage.

This is Monaco's tenth appearance in the Champions League proper – and a first since 2018/19.

Runners-up to Porto in 2003/04, Monaco have lost twice in Champions League qualifying since that last group stage appearance, going out to Shakhtar Donetsk in the 2021/22 play-offs (2-3 aggregate) and PSV Eindhoven in the third qualifying round a year later (3-4 agg).

That 2022/23 campaign is Monaco's most recent in European football. Having lost to PSV, they moved across to the Europa League group stage, finishing second in their section, before losing to Bayer Leverkusen in the knockout round play-offs (3-2 a, 2-3 h aet, 3-5 pens).

Les Monégasques lost two of their last four home European matches in that 2022/23 campaign – winning the others two – having suffered a single defeat in their previous seven (W3 D3).

Adi Hütter's side sealed a return to the Champions League proper by finishing second in Ligue 1 in 2023/24, nine points behind champions Paris Saint-Germain. It was Monaco's highest final league placing since 2017/18, when they were also runners-up to Paris.

Barcelona

Record vs French clubs: W15 D7 L7 F59 A44

Away record vs French clubs: W5 D5 L4

This is Barcelona's third successive Champions League game against a club from France after their 2023/24 campaign was ended in the quarter-finals by Paris Saint-Germain. They were 3-2 winners in the first leg in France but went down 1-4 at home to bow out.

That first-leg win in Paris was only the Blaugrana's second in their last nine visits to France (D5 L2).

This is Barcelona's 29th campaign in the Champions League proper, a competition record they share with Real Madrid. They have featured every season since 2003/04.

The five-time European champions reached the quarter-finals or better every season between 2007/08 and 2019/20, winning the title in 2009, 2011 and 2015, but reached the round of 16 for the first time in three campaigns in 2023/24.

Under Xavi Hernández, Barcelona finished top of their section, picking up 12 points, with four wins and two defeats, and then beat Napoli in the round of 16 (1-1 a, 3-1 h). They looked set to prolong their campaign as they won 3-2 at Paris in the first leg of the quarter-finals and then went 1-0 up in the return, but ultimately lost 1-4 to bow out.

Barcelona have won only 15 of their last 36 away matches in European competition (D10 L11), although they were unbeaten in eight (W5 D3) before losing at Benfica on Matchday 2 in 2021/22. Their away record since is W6 D2 L6.

The Catalan club relinquished their Liga title to Real Madrid in 2023/24, finishing second on 85 points – ten behind their great rivals.

Barcelona replaced Xavi with former Bayern and Germany coach Hansi Flick in the summer.

Links and trivia

Flick managed three wins and a defeat in his four games as Bayern coach against Adi Hütter's Eintracht Frankfurt between 2020 and 2021, Robert Lewandowski scoring six goals in those matches.

Has played in Spain:

Caio Henrique (Atlético de Madrid 2016–20)

Have played in France:

Raphinha (Rennes 2019/20)

Jules Koundé (Bordeaux, 2013–19)

International team-mates:

Thilo Kehrer & Marc-André ter Stegen (Germany)

Jordan Teze & Frenkie de Jong (Netherlands)

Caio Henrique, Vanderson & Raphinha (Brazil)

Radosław Majecki & Robert Lewandowski (Poland)

Kehrer's most recent game for Germany was a 1-0 loss to Poland on 16 June 2023, with Flick in charge of Germany. Ter Stegen played all 90 minutes while Lewandowski featured in the first half for Poland.

Latest news

Monaco

Monaco have played three Ligue 1 matches so far, winning three and drawing the other. They have scored seven goals and conceded one.

ASM were 3-0 victors at Auxerre on Saturday, defenders Thilo Kehrer and Vanderson both scoring their first goals of the season before Denis Zakaria struck for the second game in a row.

They won their first two games, 1-0 against Saint-Étienne and 2-0 at Lyon, before drawing 1-1 at home against Lens.

Monaco's Ligue 1 record in 2024 is W13 D5 L3 – the second best record in the French top flight behind champions Paris Saint-Germain.

Goalkeeper Radoslaw Majecki suffered an ankle injury on 1 August and is expected to be sidelined until early October.

Takumi Minamino scored two goals for Japan in a 7-0 win against China in 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying on 5 September.

Barcelona

Hansi Flick's reign as Barcelona coach has started with five successive La Liga victories, the first time the club has won their first five league games since 2018/19.

On Sunday Barcelona were 4-1 winners at Girona, Lamine Yamal scoring twice for his first away Liga double at the age of 17 years 64 days.

Dani Olmo was also on target, becoming the third Barcelona player this century to score on his first three starts in La Liga after Zlatan Ibrahimović (2009) and Cesc Fàbregas (2011).

Barça had come from behind to win their first two away games 2-1, a Robert Lewandowski double earning victory at Valencia on 17 August and Olmo getting the winner at Rayo Vallecano on 27 August.

At home, Barcelona have beaten Athletic Club 2-1 on 24 August and Real Valladolid 7-0 on 31 August – the first time they had scored seven goals in a game since an 8-2 La Liga win at home to Huesca on 2 September 2018. It was their biggest win since 13 September 2016, when they beat Celtic 7-0 at home in the Champions League group stage.

Lewandowski also scored against Athletic and Valladolid, making it four goals in five league games this season.

Olmo marked his Barcelona debut with the winner as a substitute against Rayo and was also on the scoresheet against Valladolid.

Raphinha scored the first hat-trick of his career against Valladolid.

Substitute Ferran Torres got Spain's final goal in a 4-1 UEFA Nations League win in Switzerland on 9 November – a match Olmo missed with a knee injury.

Lewandowski scored in Poland's 3-2 win away to Scotland on 5 September.

Pau Cubarsí and Pablo Torre started wins against Scotland (2-1) and Hungary (1-0) as Spain clinched their place in the 2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship in Slovakia.

Gavi continues to recover from a serious knee injury sustained in November 2023, while Frenkie de Jong has been out since April with an ankle injury.

Ronald Araújo, who has not played since July's Copa América, has a muscle injury that could keep him out until January.

Marc Bernal, who started Barcelona's first three league games, is not expected to play against this season after suffering a serious knee injury against Rayo on 27 August.

Andreas Christensen has not played since 17 August due to tendinitis in his Achilles, while Fermín López was forced to withdraw from Spain's U21 squad due to a muscle injury and was also absent on Sunday.

Ansu Fati, who picked up a foot injury in the summer, is yet to play this season.