Barcelona welcome Manchester United to Nou Camp in the first leg of their knockout play-off in 2022-23 UEFA Europa League.
Barcelona enter this stage of the Europa League after finishing third in their Champions League group, whilst Man Utd qualified as Group E runners-up.
Team News
Ansu Fati is looking to start for Barcelona after he was named as an eventual unused substitute in their La Liga win at Villarreal last weekend.
Sergio Busquets (ankle) and Ousmane Dembele (thigh) both remain absent.
Man Utd could welcome Casemiro back into contention because his suspension only applies to domestic competitions.
Lisandro Martinez and Marcel Sabitzer are suspended after the pair both picked up three yellow cards in the Group Stage respectively, with Sabitzer’s yellow cards having carried over from his Champions League involvement with Bayern Munich in the Autumn.
Antony (leg) Scott McTominay (knock), Christian Eriksen (ankle), Donny van de Beek (knee), Anthony Martial (leg) and Mason Greenwood (personal) remain absent.
When is Kick-Off?
Barcelona host Manchester United at Nou Camp on Thursday 16 February at 6:45pm CET (5:45pm GMT), with the match broadcast live on BT Sport in UK.
Stat Attack
- Barcelona have won just one of three previous meetings against Man Utd outside of the Champions League (W1, L2), which all came in UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup.
- Man Utd have lost three of their five previous away matches against Barcelona at Nou Camp in all competitions (D2, L3).
- Barcelona have scored three goals in each of their last two meetings against Utd in which they played as the home team.
- Robert Lewandowski has scored five goals in two of Barcelona’s three European matches played at home this season, albeit in Champions League.
- Utd conceded just twice in their three away matches during the Group Stage (W3), which both came in a 3-2 win at Omonia in October 2022.
Prediction
Having dropped into the Europa League knockout stages for a second consecutive season, Barcelona certainly be looking to take this competition more seriously than they did last year especially given that they’re unbeaten since November.
Barcelona also haven’t conceded in their last seven matches which will create a huge challenge for Man Utd to break down, because this Catalonian team seems to be on top form and can afford to really go for it here given their 11-point lead at the top of La Liga.
Man Utd meanwhile are in equally strong form but have lost two games in the last three months unlike Barcelona and kept just three clean sheets in their last nine games, showing how defensively vulnerable they’re so I do expect them to concede.
Their attack though does have the quality needed to really trouble Barcelona – especially from Rashford but they will need to be much better than they were at Leeds on Sunday, in which they defensively rode their luck before clinically striking late on.
A goalless draw though feels really unlikely but if Man Utd can keep things tight, I can see them getting a draw at a ground which hasn’t been particularly kind to them when specifically facing Barcelona.
Prediction: Barcelona 1-1 Manchester United
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