After a disappointing 0-0 draw with Valerenga in Oslo, Manchester United will now face Barcelona in what is our penultimate pre-season friendly of this tour. Barcelona will surely prove a stern test for the Old Trafford outfit. Under the new management of former assistant coach Tito Villanova, it will be interesting to see how Barcelona will approach the game.
Manchester United
Sir Alex Ferguson will return to take charge of Manchester United against Barcelona after missing the previous friendly due to “other club business.” Patrice Evra will also return having missed the Valerenga game to be with his wife who just gave birth. Phil Jones who did not take part in the previous game at all due to an illness has since been sent home from the tour. Scott Wootton and Robbie Brady have joined up with the squad for defensive cover.
MUFC squad: De Gea, Lindegaard, Evra, Ferdinand, M Keane, Vidic, Wooton, Brady, Anderson, Carrick, Nani, Powell, Lingard, Scholes, Valencia, Young; Berbatov, Hernandez, Kagawa, Macheda, Rooney, Welbeck.
FC Barcelona
Having only signed left back Jordi Alba this summer, this is almost an identical Barcelona squad to the one that Manchester United beat in pre-season 12 months ago. The only real difference is that Tito Villanova is now in charge of the Blaugrana in place of the departed Pep Guardiola. So far Barcelona have only played one pre-season friendly; against the oil-powered PSG. That game ended in a 2-2 draw with a 4-1 penalty shootout deciding that the Trophy of Paris belonged to the Catalan team.
FCB squad: Valdés, Alves, Piqué, Fàbregas, Puyol, Xavi, Villa, Iniesta, Alexis, Messi, Mascherano, Jordi Alba, Afellay, Adriano, Sergio, Pinto, Pedro, Fontàs, Montoya, Bartra, Tello, Ilie, Roberto, Rafinha.
The showcase match between Manchester United and Barcelona will take place at the Ullevi Stadium in Gothenburg, Sweden. The match will be televised on MUTV. Kick off 19:00BST.
Match teaser:
