Manchester United v Barcelona – Sunday 31st July – FedEx Field, Washington DC (01:00)
Barcelona v Manchester United
Pre-season international friendlies continue and we will be served with a high-profile encounter this weekend with two of the greatest clubs in world football coming up against each other. Its the English champions against the Spanish champions in a repeat fixture of the 2010/11 Champions League Final played two months ago.
Manchester United recorded a third straight win in their US tour last Saturday. After beating New England Revolution 4-1 and thrashing Seattle Sounders 7-1, United faced MLS strugglers Chicago Fire in a sold out stadium. David De Gea made two stunning saves on his debut to ensure his new club’s US tour continued on a winning note. The Spaniard was playing in his first game since lifting the Under-21 European Championship and completing an £18million move to Old Trafford. There was little he could do about the opening goal of the game when fellow United debutant Phil Jones was out jumped. De Gea then twice stopped Chicago Fire from doubling their lead before a late comeback from United when Fergi introduced his more experienced Premier League winning stars. Wayne Rooney got himself on the score sheet again after scoring a hatrick in just one half in United’s previous win against Seattle Sounders. Rafael and Nani were the other goal scorer’s after coming on in the second half. Sir Alex Ferguson is expected to start these first team players as this match will serve as good preparation for the challenging upcoming season.
The defending UEFA Champions League and La Liga champions will rely on many of the familiar faces including Xavi, Andrés Iniesta and David Villa in their three friendly matches to be played on US soil. They started their pre-season friendlies with a 0-0 draw against Hajduk Split in Croatia where they dominated the possession by having 71% of it but the second string Barcelona team failed to beat the Hajduk keeper on several occasions. Barcelona will play this match after participating in the Audi Cup in Germany at the home of Bayern Munich. Two-time FIFA player of the year Lionel Messi and new signing Alexis Sanchez are among several stars who will skip Barcelona’s upcoming three game tour of the US. They will rest players who were involved in the recent Copa America. So Messi, Argentine team-mate Javier Mascherano, Chile’s Sanchez and Brazil’s Daniel Alves will all miss the tour after making it as far as the quarter finals. Barcelona’s silky and dominating passing game was too much for United in the final of the Champions League in May and they are expected to keep to their style in this match.
Barcelona have established themselves as the best team in the world and no matter what team comes out, their style will remain unchanged. The European Club Champions are tipped for the victory.
