Manchester United Vs Barcelona Premier League Football Match Score 2023
Manchester United are preparing for an action-packed few days which could see them pick up silverware for the first time since 2017 in the Carabao Cup showpiece on Sunday afternoon. Before then, though, there is the small matter of a Europa League showdown with Barcelona for Erik ten Hag and his squad to contend with. Those teams played out a 2-2 draw at the Nou Camp in the first leg and will go at it, once again, in the return on Thursday night at Old Trafford.
Off the pitch, meanwhile, United have been subject to two public takeover offers – one from British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the other from Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani – after the Glazer family put the Premier League giants up for sale in November, before setting a “soft deadline” for approaches.
United target Victor Osimhen has, seemingly, left the door open to a summer move amid ongoing speculation over his future. Marcus Thuram has also been heavily linked as an alternative option.
Barcelona play one of the biggest matches of their season so far when they make the trip to England for the second leg of their Europa League Playoff tie against Manchester United at Old Trafford.
These two teams played an absolutely incredible first leg that ended in a 2-2 draw after 90 minutes of pure, unadulterated madness and a lot of good football from both sides. United avoided defeat on the road and are a force at home, and Barça will have to find a way to win without three crucial starters in the injured Pedri and Ousmane Dembélé and the suspended Gavi.
Xavi Hernández badly needs a big European win as Barça boss and will no doubt treat this one like a very important game. Here’s how we think the coach will line up his troops on Thursday night.
Xavi surprised everyone when he rested Andreas Christensen and Alejandro Balde in the first leg, and the decision to bring Marcos Alonso into the defense had mixed results as the Spaniard scored an important goal but was also exposed in the two United goals at Camp Nou.
I suspect there will be no Alonso in this one as Xavi will go back to the “BACK” quartet as Ronald Araujo is available again after serving a suspension at the weekend and Christensen proved against Cádiz how crucial of a piece he is. Alejandro Balde and Jordi Alba have equal chances of starting at left-back, but Balde is the better defender and more suited to road matches of this caliber. Wout Weghorst admits Manchester United are still gunning to win the quadruple this season as the on-loan striker made a bold admission about their promising four-pronged quest for silverware.
Coming up six years since the club last won any trophy, United remain in all competitions this campaign with the next few days set to shape their ambitions. First up is the second leg of their Europa League play-off clash with Barcelona at Old Trafford on Thursday night (8pm) – with the tie delicately poised.
After that, Weghorst and his teammates head to Wembley for their Carabao Cup showpiece with Newcastle on Sunday afternoon. If successful beneath the famous arch, it would be the first silverware United have won since the 2016/2017 season under Jose Mourinho. Manchester United have immediately switched their focus to Thursday night’s Europa League clash with Barcelona at Old Trafford.
The Reds, who tightened their grip on a top-four berth with Sunday’s 3-0 win over Leicester City at Old Trafford, will welcome the Spanish giants to M16 for the second leg of their knockout round play-off tie looking to build on last week’s 2-2 draw at Camp Nou. United performed excellently in Spain, so much so that they were disappointed to leave the iconic stadium with just a draw to show for their efforts.
Such is the way United have improved as this season has progressed and Old Trafford has been transformed back into a fortress, they are, in the eyes of many, favourites to progress to the last-16 of the competition. They have been outstanding at Old Trafford this term, winning 14 of their last 15 matches on their own patch.
And such is the magnitude of the clash with Xavi’s troops, United were back on the training ground at Carrington less than 24 hours after the conclusion of their win over Leicester, putting preparations in place for Thursday’s huge encounter.
Raphael Varane and Casemiro did not feature at the weekend, with Varane rested and Casemiro suspended, and trained in a group separate to those who did feature heavily against Leicester. The group that Varane and Casemiro was in carried out work with the ball, while the players in the other group focussed on recovery after Sunday’s victory.
Barcelona have released their travelling squad of 20 players for Thursday’s Europa League play-off second leg at Old Trafford. The Catalans fly over to Manchester later today [Wednesday], with Xavi holding a press conference at Old Trafford from 18:15 GMT. La Liga’s leaders will then train out on the pitch, just over 24 hours before the sides resume a tie which caught Europe’s imagination last week.
It finished 2-2 at the Nou Camp, as Erik ten Hag’s side recovered from Marcos Alonso’s opener to briefly lead thanks to Marcus Rashford’s superb strike and a Jules Kounde own goal. Raphinha equalised with 15 minutes to go to leave the two-legged meeting finely poised.
