Manchester United and Barcelona meet on Thursday for the second time this month to determine which club will progress to the last 16 of the Europa League.
The 2022-2023 UEFA Europa League Play-Off Round will have a must-watch rematch between the two giants. Manchester United will play Barcelona 2-2 at Old Trafford and the winner will advance to the round of 16. Find out what the likely lineups are for this match.
Manchester United returned from Spain last week with a favorable result as they close at home. Their reaction there was the most important for Erik ten Hag, as the team started with a score of 1-0. They have the Carabao Cup final against Newcastle on Sunday, but that is their priority. The Red Devils continued their good form with a 3-0 win over Leicester in the Premier League.
Barcelona are also on a great run in La Liga. Their seven straight wins have given them an eight-point lead in the race against Real Madrid. The first stage was not so favorable for them that they could not take the lead of this battle. Despite conceding just one goal in their excellent league run, the Englishmen managed to score twice in Catalonia.
Manchester United team news
Defending in this game will have a vital importance to the outcome of the series between these powerful teams. In that regard Manchester United have very good news with an expected return. The player that will be ready to be in the starting lineup again is Lisandro Martínez after missing the previous matchup for being suspended. In the midfield Marcel Sabitzer is also available.
Manchester United Predicted lineup:
David De Gea; Diogo Dalot, Raphael Varane, Lisandro Martínez, Luke Shaw; Casemiro, Fred; Jadon Sancho, Bruno Fernandes, Marcus Rashford; and Wout Weghorst.
Barcelona team news
Xavi instead will have to show his coaching ability to replace probably the most important players for the correct functioning of the team. Those two are the wonderkids Pedri and Gavi. Pedri won’t be playing after a thigh injury suffered in the 2-2 tie of last week. Gavi will also miss the match because he is sanctioned for receiving his third yellow card. Replacing these superstars will not be easy, although at least Sergio Busquets could come back from an injury.
Barcelona Predicted lineup:
Marc-André Ter Stegen; Jules Koundé, Ronald Araújo, Andreas Christensen, Jordi Alba; Frank Kessié, Sergio Busquets, Frenkie De Jong; Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski, and Ansu Fati.
