Manchester United vs. Barcelona is a mouth-watering clash at any time of year.
The International Champions Cup steps up a few notches for United as they face the treble-winning Barcelona in Santa Clara on Saturday afternoon. The game’s 1:05 p.m. PDT kick-off time will be more conducive to a television audience back in Europe. United fans back home have had to stay up late or get up early to watch their side so far, but this game has a Saturday night time slot in the UK.
Champions! Campeones! @fcbarcelona @hbarnes @warriors #ICC2015 pic.twitter.com/Vd591xtYfE
— Int Champions Cup (@IntChampionsCup) July 23, 2015
The game will be played at Levi’s Stadium—the 68,500 capacity home of the San Francisco 49ers.
Louis van Gaal‘s men are a game deeper in their ICC run, having notched up two wins. Luis Enrique’s all-conquering Barca side come into this match on the back of a 2-1 win over LA Galaxy—a game which saw perennial United hate figures Steven Gerrard and Luis Suarez reunited.
"Are you a basketball player? Are you a soccer player?" When @LuisSuarez9 shows up to class… #ICC2015 @FCBarcelona pic.twitter.com/HW5F6Z4WDN
— Int Champions Cup (@IntChampionsCup) July 23, 2015
Pre-season fitness will be high on the agenda here, but the game represents an opportunity for both teams to enhance their chances of ICC success by adding to their points tally. Indeed, any win for United—whether in 90 minutes or on penalties—would earn them enough points to top the table for now.
Date: Saturday 25 July 2015
Time: 1:05 p.m. PDT / 9:05 p.m. BST
Venue: Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, California
TV Info: MUTV (UK Only)/Fox (U.S. Only), ESPN Deportes (Spanish Language, U.S. Only)
Live Stream: Fox Sports Go (U.S. only)
Suarez is the only one of Barcelona’s peerless forward line available for selection here. Neither Lionel Messi nor Neymar are taking part in the Blaugrana’s US tour, per David Larimer of the Washington Post.
In spite of the absence of such stunning talent, Barcelona still put out a very strong lineup for their game against the Galaxy. Ivan Rakitic, Sergio Busquets and Rafinha all featured. Gerard Pique and AndresIniesta played in the second half. Also starting was Pedro, a player United have recently been linked with, per Darren Lewis of theMirror, for example.
Van Gaal made it clear that United will make fewer changes at half-time in this one, per the club’s official website. “Against Barcelona, I will play for longer with a line-up,” said the United manager, “I have to select which players are going to play 60 minutes so it is the first selection.”
It will be intriguing to see which of the players who have featured in second-half lineups so far get the nod in the starting XI. Chris Smalling,Ander Herrera and Bastian Schweinsteiger are the obvious choices, but Andreas Pereira may be rewarded for his impressive form.
Ian Ladyman of the Daily Mail reported that Van Gaal wants Real Madrid target David De Gea to play in this one. Angel Di Maria, Marcos Rojo and Javier Hernandez are unlikely to feature, per ManUtd.com again, although the manager did say, “it is possible because in three weeks [holiday] you do not lose so much [match readiness].”
Players to Watch
Of course, were both teams at full strength, then Messi would be top of the list for players to watch.
However, there will still be plenty of talent on show. Suarez will not get a good reception from the United faithful in the crowd, but his talent is undeniable. Equally, Busquets is not generally too popular with opposition fans, but his midfield abilities are always impressive. Iniestais, of course, one of the finest midfielders of his generation.
United, of course, have one of the finest midfielders of his generation in their charge too, now, given the addition of Schweinsteiger. He will be eager to atone for his below-par performance against San Jose Earthquakes.
Memphis Depay has been lively in United’s first two games, as has Juan Mata, who opened the scoring against the ‘Quakes, and was a constant threat in the attacking third. Wayne Rooney pulled off a couple of nice passes in that game, too, and United would welcome his return to the score sheet.
Key Battle
In the Champions League finals of 2009 and 2011, Barcelona comprehensively won the midfield battles between the two sides. The middle of the park will once again be the key battleground in this game. United have, on paper, narrowed the quality gap in that area with their recent strengthening, but this will still be a huge test for the Red Devil’s new-look midfield.
It will be intriguing to see whether Van Gaal sticks with the 4-4-1-1 he played against Club America and San Jose, or whether he will revert to 4-3-3. The latter could see a midfield of, say, Schweinsteiger, Herrera and Morgan Schneiderlin, which may not quite be a match for Barcelona, but is at least in with a fighting chance.
3 Comments
Musah Yakubu
Who wins
administrator
United has won
United 3 – 1 Barca
FC Barcelona News
Unfortunately United 🙁