Manchester United will visit Barcelona’s Camp Nou on Thursday for their Europa League Round of 32 match. Both of these teams are looking to advance.
The European club football tournament returns this week after a long break. Before the knockout stage begins, some teams need to qualify.
One of these is Manchester United and Barcelona, who will meet in the play-off phase.
The first leg of their match will be held at Camp Nou.
In the last meeting between these two teams, Barcelona defeated Manchester United 4-0 on aggregate.
The Red Devils were then eliminated from the Champions League in the quarterfinals.
Manchester United vs Barcelona Head to head :
These two teams have clashed in two Champions League Finals, and both times the Spanish side emerged with the win.
And in recent years as well, the Catalans have been the better team in h2h clashes.
In fact, Barca are on a four-fixture winning streak against this opponent, and scored two or more goals in three of these games.
Manchester United vs Barcelona Prediction :
Barcelona may be regarded as the best defensive team in Europe, but they have also shown a soft underbelly in their recent campaigns.
Marcus Rashford will be looking to exploit that when the two meet on Thursday.
The key to the match will be Robert Lewandowski’s ability to find the target in the final third, as Barcelona will be dominant in the middle of the pitch.
The dilta believes that the hosts will be able to get a win, and Manchester United will be left in the tie after the first leg.
Match Info :
Barcelona vs Manchester United UEFA Europa League
Date: 16 February 2023, Thursday
Kick-off at 20:30 UK / 21:30 CET
Venue: Stadium Emirates
Manchester United vs Barcelona Team News :
Sergio Busquets and Ousmane Dembele are both set to miss Barcelona’s upcoming Europa League playoff matches due to injury.
With Dembele out, one of the options available to Barcelona would be Ansu Fati, Ferran Torres, or Gavi, who can play on the left flank.
In addition to Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha and Sergio Busquets would also be able to operate up front.
Although Gavi can play in the middle, he could also be used as a substitute for Busquets.
In the previous match, Kessie started alongside Pedri and De Jong, and he could retain his place on Thursday.
Although Xavi is not likely to make many changes to his starting lineup, he could also replace Balde with Alba.
Since Barcelona has kept more clean sheets than any other team in Europe’s top five leagues this season, it would be a risky move for the former.
Manchester United will be without several key players for the match, such as Christian Eriksen, Anthony Martial, Scott McTominay, and Antony.
Also, Marcel Sabitzer and Lisandro Martinez are suspended.
Although Casemiro was suspended for the last couple of Premier League games, he is available for selection again.
He could partner Fred in the middle.
Harry Maguire could be replaced by Raphael Varane, while Jadon Sancho could start on the right flank, with Marcus Rashford, Wout Weghorst, and Bruno Fernandes up front.
Barcelona possible starting lineup:
Ter Stegen; Kounde, Araujo, Christensen, Alba; Pedri, De Jong, Kessie; Raphinha, Lewandowski, Gavi
Manchester United possible starting lineup:
De Gea; Dalot, Varane, Shaw, Malacia; Casemiro, Fred; Sancho, Fernandes, Rashford; Weghorst
