Manchester United v FC Barcelona: Preview
FC Barcelona vs Manchester United
Ullevi Stadium, Gothenburg, Sweden
Wednesday 8th August 2012, KO 20:00 (local time), 19:00 GMT
Manchester United last played Barcelona in Washington DC on 30th July 2011. The Red Devils won that match 2-1 with a 22nd minuted goal from Nani and a 76th minute winner from Michael Owen. Thiago Alcantara scored the only for the 2011 UEFA Champions League winners. The victory was widely celebrated being as it was only two months since the Barcelona side mauled Manchester United at Wembley in the UEFA Champions League final.
This match will be different as Barcelona will have a full side plus their talented youngsters. This means Manchester United will get a good match in before the curtain raiser away to Everton, just 12 days after the Barcelona match. The Old Trafford side have only scored three goals in pre-season so far, but only conceded once. Not a great start but pre-season matches are all about fitness, get a good fitness level now and players will feel the benefits when the season starts.
I would say the main Barcelona players to watch tomorrow night will be Lionel Messi, who scored 73 goals in all competitions last season, the usual suspects Xavi and Iniesta. For Manchester United I would say Wayne Rooney, who will want to open this seasons scoring account, Paul Scholes who will be up for the midfield challenge and Shinji Kagawa, who I would like to see against one of the best, if not the best sides in European and world football. I expect Valencia to fill in at right-back again, with Rio and Vidic in the centre and Evra on the left. Carrick and Scholes in midfield with Nani and Young on the wing, with Kagawa playing int the hole behind Rooney.
This match should be entertaining and I for one have been looking forward to this match since it was announced back in June.
FC Barcelona Facts- Founded 29th November 1899, 112 years ago
- Tito Vilanova is the current coach, who replaced Pep Guardiola this summer.
- Play at the Camp Nou in Barcelona
- Top Scorer (last season league goals): Lionel Messi with 50 league goals and 16 league assists
- Finished 2nd in La Liga, which they have won 21 times in the clubs history
- Barcelona have a very attacking style of play and they love to pass the ball around the pitch, effectively stopping the other team from getting the ball
- Captain is Hernandez Xavi with Carles Puyol as vice captain
- Nicknamed Barça or Blaugrana
- Most appearances: Hernandez Xavi on 690 competitive appearances for Barcelona and Barcelona B
- Club top goalscorer: Lionel Messi on 253 goals in all competitions
- Won 21 league titles, 25 Copa del Rey’s, 10 Supercopa de España, 3 Copa Eva Duarte, 2 Copa de la Liga, 4 European cups/UEFA Champions League, 4 European Cup Winners’ Cup/UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup, 3 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, 4 European Super Cup / UEFA Super Cup and 2 FIFA Club World Cup.
- Founded in 1878 as Newton Heath Lancashire Yorkshire Railway Football Club
- Sir Alex Ferguson has been the manager since 6th November 1986
- Play at Old Trafford, which has a 75,811 capacity
- Top Scorers (last season): Wayne Rooney 27 league goals and Javier Hernandez 10 goals
- Finished 2nd in the Barclays Premier League, which they have won 12 times since the league started
- Manchester United had an attacking style of play, scoring 89 goals and conceding 33 goals
- Captain is Nemanja Vidic, vice captain is Patrice Evra
- Nicknamed the Red Devils
- Most appearances: Ryan Giggs who has made 909 appearances (Giggs is absent from the tour as he is in the Team GB squad)
- Club top goalscorer: Sir Bobby Charlton 249
- Won 19 league titles, 11 FA cups, 4 league cups, 19 FA Charity/Community Shields, 3 European cups/UEFA Champions League, 1 UEFA Cup Winners cup, 1 UEFA Super cup, 1 Intercontinental cup and 1 FIFA Club World cup
Manchester United Form (league matches): WWWWLWDLWW (DHL Tour 2012): WDWD
FC Barcelona Squad:
GK: Victor Valdes, Jose Manuel Pinto, Francesc Vilanova
DEF: Daniel Alves, Gerard Pique, Carles Puyol, Jordi Alba, Martin Montoya, Marc Bartra, Carles Planas, Adriano, Andreu Fontas, Marc Muniesa
MID: Cesc Fabregas, Hernandez Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Sergio Busquets, Javier Mascherano, Ibrahim Afellay, Jonathan dos Santos, Rafinha, Sergi Roberto, Thiago Alcantara, Isaac Cuenca,
FOR: Lionel Messi, Alexis Sanchez, Rodriques Pedro, Cristian Tello, David Villa
Manchester United Squad:
GK: David De Gea, Anders Lindegaard
DEF: Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, Patrice Evra, Michael Keane, Robbie Brady, Scott Wootton
MID: Michael Carrick, Paul Scholes, Anderson, Shinji Kagawa, Luis Nani, Ashley Young, Antonio Valencia, Nick Powell, Jesse Lingard
FOR: Wayne Rooney, Javier Hernandez, Danny Welbeck, Dimitar Berbatov, Federico Macheda
Match Prediction: FC Barcelona 2 – 2 Manchester United
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