Overview
- Barcelona vs PSG is set for Wednesday, October 1 at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, and Real Madrid visit Kairat in Kazakhstan on Tuesday, September 30 at the Ortalyq Stadion.
- PSG enter as reigning Champions League winners, and both clubs arrive as leaders of their domestic leagues after opening European wins.
- Confirmed absences: Barcelona will be without Raphinha, Joan García, Gavi and Fermín López; PSG lack Ousmane Dembélé, Désiré Doué and Marquinhos.
- Real Madrid completed a roughly 10–11 hour, 6,400–8,000 km journey to Kazakhstan, will play at about 850 meters altitude, and miss five defenders—Dani Carvajal, Trent Alexander‑Arnold, Antonio Rüdiger, Ferland Mendy and Éder Militão—with youth defender David Jiménez called up.
- Broadcasts in much of Latin America run on ESPN with streaming on Disney+, while betting markets make Barcelona slight favorites over PSG and heavily favor Madrid over debutants Kairat, whose squad value (~€12–13m) is dwarfed by Madrid’s (~€1.4bn).