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12 min: Barca press United back. Alba bustles down the left but can’t get a shot away. Lewandowski attempts to spin Varane on the penalty spot. Finally Fred yanks Gavi to the floor just in front of the D. Free kick in a very dangerous position.
10 min: Pedri makes a nuisance of himself on the edge of the United box. The ball breaks to Araujo, who blooters wildly over the crossbar. Both teams look in the mood to put on a show.
8 min: … and yet it’s Barca who nearly take the lead, Lewandowski powering into the United box down the left and slamming a shot goalwards from a tight angle. De Gea saves well with a strong hand.
7 min: Rashford dribbles down the left and slips in Fernandes, who can’t get a shot away from the edge of the six-yard box. Kounde stands firm as Malacia tries, only to be also denied. United come again, Shaw swinging in from the left, looking for Weghorst. Barca clear their lines. Positive start by United, this.
6 min: Sancho briefly threatens to make good ground down the left only to be denied by a no-nonsense crunching tackle by Araujo. A fair chance Casemiro enjoyed watching that, even if his man came off second best.
5 min: Raphinha takes on Sancho and Weghorst down the right and wins the race. But he also clumsily runs the ball out for a goal kick. For a nanosecond, things opened up for Barca there.
4 min: United attempt to pass out from the back and are met with a sonic boom of whistles. Perhaps it’s because they’re kitted out like Real Madrid.
2 min: Raphinha worms his way down the right but his low cross finds nobody in the middle. A fast and open start, all right.
20 sec: A bright start for United, as Fernandes gains a yard down the right and whistles a tempting ball through the Barca six-yard box. Fred slides in but can’t connect. Longer toenails and United would be ahead.
Before kick off, there’s a moment of poignant reflection in memory of the victims of the dreadful earthquake that recently hit Turkey and Syria. Perfectly observed. Then, accompanied by a roar of relief, United get the match started.
The teams are out! Barcelona wear their blue and red, forcing United into second-choice white and black. A crowd of 90,000, give or take, look on and cheer. Big game coming up, as two of football’s giants battle for a place in the Europa League round of 16. “Spare a thought for all the Barcelona players who thought they were done with facing Casemiro,” writes Joe Pearson. “Poor guys.” We’ll be off in a minute.
Pre-match postbag. “Is it just me or does Lewandowski look weird in a Barcelona shirt? He doesn’t look like one of the world’s best strikers, he looks like the host of a TV talent show during a charity football event. Probably doesn’t help that this season’s rendition of the Barcelona shirt looks like it was designed by a ten year old, most of whose felt tips have run dry. Anyway I’ll get in touch if I have any more important musings” – Nathan Fisher
“The fact that I was relieved to see Luke Shaw’s name on the team sheet (as a CB) speaks volumes for this guy. He has progressed massively this season and is in no way a fill in in that position” – Neil Carter
“It’s a classic match-up, spiced up even more thanks to the double-take Brazilian clash of Raphael Raphinha and Frederico Fred. Also, BAR-MAN could well the most popular fixture among bartenders” – Peter Oh
Speaking of the history between these two world-famous institutions, here’s our old pal and all-round class act Rob Smyth with an extremely relevant Joy of Six …
… and here’s the great man again, taking a deeper dive into that time Bryan Robson outshone Diego Maradona at Old Trafford. Enjoy, enjoy! You’ll read nothing finer.
United go into this match on the back of four consecutive losses against Barca, a sequence that stretches back to the 2009 Champions League final, which the Catalans won 2-0. That was followed by the 2011 final, Barca winning 3-1, and then 1-0 and 3-0 Barca victories in the 2018-19 quarters. United’s last victory against the Blaugrana came in the 2007-08 Champions League semis, when Paul Scholes lashed a pearler into the top right from distance at Old Trafford en route to Big Ears number three.
If that state of affairs isn’t daunting enough for United, there’s also this small matter: Barcelona have never lost at Camp Nou to them. They’ve kept clean sheets in four of those five matches, the exception being the famous 3-3 draw in the 1998-99 Champions League groups, and I won’t insult your intelligence by reminding you how that particular campaign panned out for Alex Ferguson’s side.
But here’s some good news for those United fans who need history as a crutch: Barcelona have yet to win a Europa League game at home, drawing two and losing one. They’ve also won just two of their last 11 home matches in European competition, conceding at least three goals in six of those matches. Succour for everyone!
Erik ten Hag speaks to BT Sport. “You don’t have any influence on the draw, it’s what you get you have to beat, and that’s why we’re here … Casemiro has a really strong effect on our game … composure, positioning, coaching … everyone is more confident when he’s on the pitch … we have a strong counter, but we need to bring Barca out of their comfort zone, so we will press them high when possible … we have players who are capable to play so we will play … we have to go forward … there is a line of a lot of Dutch players and managers with Barcelona, I am aware of it, but I am here for Man United and I want to win, and win in a Man United way.”
United make three changes to their starting XI in the wake of last Sunday’s 2-0 Premier League win at Leeds. Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Raphael Varane and Casemiro replace Diogo Dalot and Harry Maguire, who drop to the bench, and Marcel Sabitzer, who is suspended from European competition after three yellow cards in the Champions League group stages with Bayern Munich. Lisandro Martinez is also serving a one-match European suspension.
Barcelona, who beat Villarreal 1-0 in their last La Liga game, make two changes to the starting XI named for that match. Marcos Alonso and Jordi Alba replace Andreas Christensen and Alejandro Balde, who both drop to the bench.
The teams
Barcelona: Ter Stegen, Kounde, Araújo, Alonso, Alba, Pedri, De Jong, Kessie, Raphinha, Lewandowski, Gavi.
Subs: Peña, Tenas, Fati, Torres, Christensen, Roberto, García, Balde, Casado, Torre, Alarcon.
Manchester United: De Gea, Wan-Bissaka, Varane, Shaw, Malacia, Casemiro, Fred, Sancho, Fernandes, Rashford, Weghorst.
Subs: Heaton, Butland, Lindelöf, Maguire, Dalot, Pellistri, Elanga, Garnacho, Iqbal, Mainoo.
Referee: Maurizio Mariani (Italy).
Preamble
A couple of giants, slumming it, right here. Doesn’t stop the match-up being a doozy, though, does it? Kick off is at 5.45pm GMT. It’s on!
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