Either Manchester United or visitor FC Barcelona will make their stride to the round of 16 of the Europa League as a fascinating conclusion to this humongous tie unfolds at Old Trafford in the second leg of the playoffs.
The first leg ended in a 2-2 with the Blaugranas taking the lead but going behind ten minutes before Raphinha struck in the 76th minute to end it level.
MUN vs FCB Match Details
Date: Thursday, 23 February 2023
Time: 21:00 (BST) / 01:30 (IST)
Venue: Old Trafford, Manchester
MUN vs FCB Match Preview
It was anyone’s game in the first leg at Camp Nou and Manchester United knew it very well despite going behind through Marcos Alonso’s header five minutes later. After opposition goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen denied Wout Weghorst and Marcus Rashford before the break, the England international managed to sneak a goal past him after his earlier cross was turned into his own net by Jules Kounde for the equalizer. However, Raphinha made sure the home side didn't go to the second leg with a disadvantage as his shot-cum-cross ended in the back of the net. With the tie rested 2-2, the Red Devils are counting on their Old Trafford advantage in the second leg to take them through but cannot make a repeat of their first-half performance against Leicester City at the weekend in the Premier League. Although Rashford latched onto a brilliant pass from Bruno Fernandes to score following an error from the Foxes, Erik ten Hag’s side largely survived the half because of the saving arms of their joint record clean sheet holder David de Gea. They turned the game around after half-time with the 25-year-old striking his 24th of the campaign in all competitions and Jadon Sancho making it 3-0 off the bench. United are now unbeaten in 15 games at home in all contests this season with dropping points only once in that period. The win did put them in the title charge of the Premier League but Ten Hag will be more interested to lift silverware in other competitions they are in rather than sucked into that conversation exceeding their objective this season. A mammoth challenge in the second leg against Barcelona needs to be overcome before they fight for their first trophy in six years against Newcastle in the league cup final on Sunday.
Manchester United have won only one game of the eleven meetings against Barcelona in Europe and Xavi will be hoping to continue that record in the second leg. Having said that, the Catalan giants won only once in the five away trips in this meeting with the victory only coming in the previous encounter in 2019. That time it was the Champions League, a place where both of the sides are desperate to return. Barcelona have a charming unbeaten streak of their own after not losing a game in 18 since a 3-0 loss to Bayern in October last year and collecting 16 wins in it. They have got a good grip on the top of the La Liga table so irrespective of the result on Thursday the Blaugranas are the favorites to return to the biggest stage of European football again. But exiting the playoff stage of the Europa League after plummeting from the Champions League could be dissatisfying for the fans. Going deeper into the contest will boost the club financially and could have more trophies to show for at the end of the season having won the Spanish Super Cup. On the flip side, getting eliminated from Europe may act as a boon to solely focus on the league and put more pressure on their arch-rivals Real Madrid to chase them as they are one step closer to the quarterfinals of the Champions League after a huge win over Liverpool. However, Xavi will only be looking at a positive outcome of the game and hope his side puts in a strong performance at Old Trafford for qualification to the last 16.
Recent Form (all competitions)
MUN: WDWDW
FCB: WDWWW
Recent Form (Europe)
MUN: DWWWW
FCB: DWLDL
MUN vs FCB Team News
Harry Maguire and Antony both are in line for inclusion in the matchday squad to face Barcelona despite having injury issues. Midfielder Scott Mctominay returned as a substitute against Leicester City at the weekend after his injury issues while Anthony Martial is also making progress even if the game does come too soon for the French forward. Donny Van de Beek and Christian Eriksen are out for the long term.
Sergio Busquets has recovered from a muscle injury and has joined the team training. He will be available to face Manchester United at Old Trafford for the second leg after missing the first encounter. His midfield partner Pedri is not so lucky as he picked up a hamstring injury in the first half of that first leg and is ruled out until next month. The third member of the midfield trio, Gavi is suspended for accumulating yellow cards. Ousmane Dembele is a doubt with a muscle problem.
MUN vs FCB Predicted Lineups
MUN: De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Raphael Varane, Lisandro Martinez, Luke Shaw; Casemiro, Marcel Sabitzer; Jadon Sancho, Bruno Fernandes, Marcus Rashford; Wout Weghorst
FCB: Ter Stegen; Jules Kounde, Ronald Araujo, Marcos Alonso, Jordi Alba; Frenkie de Jong, Sergio Busquets, Franck Kessie; Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski, Ansu Fati
MUN vs FCB Dream11 Team Prediction
Team1
GK: De Gea (8)
DEF: Araujo (8), Alonso (8.5), Martinez (7.5), Alba (8.5)
MID: Casemiro (9), B Fernandes (9), Sancho (8)
FW: Raphinha (9), Lewandowski (9), Rashford (9)
Vice-captain: Bruno Fernandes
Captain: Marcus Rashford
Team 2
GK: Ter Stegen (8)
DEF: Araujo (8), Alonso (8.5), Martinez (7.5), Alba (8.5)
MID: Casemiro (9), B Fernandes (9), Sancho (8)
FW: Raphinha (9), Lewandowski (9), Rashford (9)
Vice-captain: Robert Lewandowski
Captain: Marcus Rashford
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