Barcelona vs Manchester United LIVE: Team news, line-ups and more from Europa League play-off match
Barcelona vs Man Utd
Manchester United and Barcelona are meeting for the first time since 2019, when Lionel Messi and Philippe Coutinho scored in a 3-0 Champions League quarter-final second leg encounter at the Nou Camp.
Barcelona progressed to the semi-finals with a 4-0 aggregate win. Will Manchester United gain revenge this time and send the Spanish giants crashing out?
Warm-ups underway
Manchester United’s David De Gea received a loud round of applause when he stepped out for the warm up.
Injured trio set to miss Manchester United’s Europa League clash with Barcelona
Antony, Anthony Martial and Scott McTominay were absent from Manchester United training ahead of the mouth-watering Europa League trip to Barcelona.
Erik ten Hag’s side take on the LaLiga leaders at the Nou Camp on Thursday evening in the first leg of their knockout play-off.
Antony, Martial and McTominay are set to miss the match through injury having missed training at Carrington on Wednesday morning ahead of flying to Spain.
Lisandro Martinez and on-loan Marcel Sabitzer are suspended for the first leg in Barcelona, but Casemiro is available as his current ban only impacts domestic matches.
Injured trio set to miss Manchester United’s Europa League clash with Barcelona
Antony, Anthony Martial and Scott McTominay are not expected to travel to Spain
A half century for Varane
Raphael Varane makes his 50th appearance for Manchester United this evening since joining the club from Real Madrid.
He’s cemented his place as the number one choice at centre-back but can the Frenchman help his new club overcome old rivals Barcelona?
Barcelona vs Man Utd team changes
Barcelona manager Xavi, swaps out Andreas Christiansen and Alejandro Balde for Marcos Alonso and Jordi Alba in the only changes to the team that defeated Villarreal 1-0 in their last outing.
Meanwhile, Erik ten Hag makes three changes to the Manchester United starting XI that defeated Leeds in the Premier League last time out. Diogo Dalot and Harry Maguire drop out of defence to make way for Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Raphael Varane whilst Casemiro replaces the suspended Marcel Sabitzer.
Barcelona vs Man Utd line-ups
Barcelona XI: Ter Stegen; Kounde, Araujo, Alonso, Alba; Kessie, de Jong, Pedri; Raphinha, Lewandowski, Gavi
Man Utd XI: De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Varane, Shaw, Malacia; Casemiro, Fred; Sancho, Fernandes, Rashford; Weghorst.
Shaw on Casemiro
Manchester United will be able to call on midfielder Casemiro tonight after missing the Brazilian in their last two matches due to him serving a three match suspension.
Luke Shaw spoke about the impact the former Real Madrid star has had on the team since his arrival saying:
“I think it’s obvious to see how important he is to the team. For us as defenders, it gives us a feeling of security. He loves to win the ball back and tackle.
“We joke he likes to give the ball away so he can win it back. I’m very happy to have him back tomorrow night because he’s been a big miss for us.”
De Jong faces Man Utd
Tonight’s match will see Frenkie de Jong come up against Manchester United who desperately tried to bring him to the Premier League club in the summer.
De Jong turned down United’s advances but Erik ten Hag is familiar with the midfielder, having managed him at Ajax before his move to Barcelona.
“He’s a fantastic player playing out from the back, he always has time, it was a pleasure to work with him,” said Ten Hag.
“Frenkie is an incredibly good player [and would be] for every club in the whole world. He has a unique quality, if you can get him in your squad your team will be stronger.”
Uefa urged to prohibit Qatari takeover of Manchester United
Uefa has been urged to prohibit Qatari state investors from any prospective takeover of Manchester United due to the conflict of interest arising from Qatar Sports Investment (QSI)’s ownership of Paris Saint-Germain.
Current owners the Glazer family are interested in selling Manchester United and although British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe is so far the only party to have officially confirmed his interest, Qatar are being strongly linked with a bid for the club.
The Glazers have set an initial deadline of Friday for parties to declare their interest, although they may well extend that by two weeks to encourage more expressions of interest if they feel their £5bn valuation won’t be met.
Uefa urged to prohibit Qatari takeover of Manchester United
A non-profit human rights organisation have implored European football’s governing body to step in to ensure the integrity of Uefa competitions
Is Qatar really buying Manchester United?
It was around the turn of the year that the Raine Group, who are handling the sale of Manchester United, approached Qatari state investors over whether they would be interested in purchasing the club. Sources with knowledge of the discussions say the response was initially lukewarm, in part because they thought it was a “fishing expedition” and there was doubt about how much the Glazer family owners really want to sell. This is one of the questions that clouds this week, and could yet ensure that Friday isn’t as decisive a day in the history of England’s biggest club as has been built up.
It is at least bigger than Thursday’s match against Barcelona, which is saying something about why the situation is where it is. As historically resonant as this fixture at Camp Nou is, it’s also a Europa League tie that used to be a Champions League tie, which has played its part in making the Glazers wonder over whether now is the time to sell.
There are only a few things in this whole process that can be said with certainty right now. As first reported by The Independent as far back as August, the Glazers are interested in a sale but want £5bn for the club.
Is Qatar really buying Manchester United?
Current owners the Glazer family are said to be ‘like Succession’ with their family politics amid Man Utd’s potential sale
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