Europe UEFA Europa League, Knock-out round Play-Off 1st Leg (16. February)

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Barcelona vs Manchester United Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Barcelona:
Ter Stegen; Kounde, Araujo, Christensen, Alba; Pedri, De Jong, Kessie; Raphinha, Lewandowski, Gavi

Manchester United:
De Gea; Dalot, Varane, Shaw, Malacia; Casemiro, Fred; Sancho, Fernandes, Rashford; Weghorst

Barcelona host Manchester United at Camp Nou on Thursday night in the first leg of their Europa League play-off. The Catalans were previously in the Champions League, but finished as third in the group. Barca had very difficult group that also contained Bayern Munich, Inter Milan and Viktoria Plzen, though their elimination surprised the experts. The Blaugrana thrashed Plzen both home and away, but claimed just one point from the four encounters against Bayern and Inter. Xavi's men suffered a heavy 3:0 defeat at home to Bayern in their penultimate group match on October 26, but haven't lost a single match since then. At the moment they are unbeaten on the last 16 games across all competitions. They also beat Villarreal as guests last weekend. Xavi has some injury worries ahead of this match as Ousmane Dembele and Sergio Busquets are sidelined with respective hamstring and ankle injuries. Gavi, Ferran Torres or Ansu Fati could deputize the French winger, while Gavi is an option to fill in for the injured Busquets.

Manchester United have a solid season. They sit on the third position in the Premier League and the fans are satisfied. Man United are only five points off the current leaders Arsenal. That gap to the top of the table could have been shortened had United not dropped seven points on the last five league fixtures. The Red Devils failed to beat Crystal Palace on road and Leeds at home, while lost from Arsenal. Nevertheless, the atmosphere in the squad is positive. Ten Hag has no new injury worries, but Donny van de Beek (knee), Christian Eriksen (ankle), Anthony Martial (hip), Scott McTominay (muscle) and Antony (leg) are all out injured. To be worse, Lisandro Martinez will miss the game through suspension, as well as January signing Marcel Sabitzer. The later is banned because he picked up three yellow cards in the Champions League group stages for Bayern Munich, with the third received in their final group game. This meant he was due to be suspended for the first leg of Bayern’s last 16 game against PSG, until he switched clubs. His absence is a blow because he faced Barcelona twice in the Champions League group stages, playing 45 minutes in a 2:0 win and 45 minutes in a 3:0 win against them. The good news for Ten Hag is that Sabitzer will be available for the second leg at Old Trafford.

Barcelona vs Manchester United Prediction:

Barcelona go into this match having won each of the last four meetings with Manchester United. They managed to win the Champions League finals in 2009 and 2011, and also secured a 4:0 aggregate win in the quarter-finals of the same competition in 2019. And I think they will win again. The quality is on their side, as well as the home advantage. Finally, they have a player able to make a difference in this match - Robert Lewandowski.

Barcelona vs Manchester United Pick: Barcelona to win @ 1.78 with Pinnacle

 

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FC Barcelona vs Manchester United
Barce have the upper hand in the first half of each of their last ten games. And they did so in their last two games against Man United, winning both with a clean sheet.

FC Barcelona is anticipated to win full time and take the lead in the first half.

Pick: 1

HT Result: 1

AH Pick: FC Barcelona -0.5