Barcelona's pre-season schedule: Most dates have been set

Luis Enrique's third season at Barcelona now has a start date. The team will begin work on July 18. The return of the players will be staggered, with the first week likely to feature lots of young players and a small band of first-teamers. 

Barcelona have three friendlies scheduled. July 30 against Celtic in Dublin, August 3 against Premier League champions Leicester City in Stockholm, and then August 6 against Liverpool, with the venue to be confirmed. 

La Liga have put forward the planned dates for the Spanish Super Cup, which it is possible Barcelona will participate in (should they win La Liga or the Copa del Rey), which would be August 12 and August 15.

The league season will begin on the weekend of 20/21 August, and is scheduled to end on May 21. There will be a winter break of the traditional kind, with no games set between December 23 and January 2.

There are still some activities yet to be set, including the date for the Joan Gamper Trophy fixture. This could be 8 or 9 August, if judging by previous seasons. 

All the dates arranged by La Liga are yet to be confirmed by the Spanish Football Federation.