PREVIEW: Barcelona vs Manchester United

It's the day you've all been waiting for, Barcelona-Manchester United is here! The La Liga giants play host to Ten Hag's side in the Europa League Round of 32, as both sides will be battling it out for any sort of advantage to take to Old Trafford for the return leg.

Both sides are going very well in terms of current form, with Barca on a record-breaking 16 game unbeaten streak under coach Xavi, as well as sitting pretty, eight points clear of Real Madrid in the table. As for United, they are seemingly back to their best, with Dutch boss Erik ten Hag guiding the Red Devils to a healthy third spot in the English top flight, breathing down cross-city rivals City's necks.

In preparation for the game, both managers expressed their excitement for the fixture, with Xavi saying it promises to be "a spectacular game for fans", as "the two teams are arriving at their best moment of form in the season". As for Ten Hag, he thinks the calibre of the game doesn't deserve to be ing the Round of 32, as he wishes it were "the final" instead.

As for team news, the Catalan side will be without Busquets and Dembele through injury, while United's Casemiro could play due to his red card suspension only being applied to league games.

Barcelona possible line-up: Ter Stegen, Kounde, Araujo, Christensen, Alba; Pedri, De Jong, Kessie; Raphinha, Lewandowski, Gavi.

Man United possible line-up: De Gea, Dalot, Varane, Shaw, Malacia, Casemiro, Fred, Fernandes, Sancho, Garnacho, Rashford.

 

February 16, 2023