Barcelona and Manchester United clash this Thursday at Camp Nou. This isn’t a Champions League game but Europa League, which sounds a bit odd after looking at the matchup. Some 10 to 15 years ago, these clubs were in the UCL finals and now fight to stay in the Europa League already in February. But to be honest, this won’t decrease the hype because we have tens of European trophies involved and numerous other titles and honors.
Preview
Barcelona (-125) is in fantastic shape and currently rides an 11-game winning streak, making them one of the most confident teams in Europe. There aren’t many clubs on the same streak as Blaugrana’s, which needs to be respected.
They were better than Villarreal this Sunday, beating the rivals at El Madrigal 0-1. Minimal victories have become frequent under Xavi’s leadership, and the former midfielder isn’t afraid to make a bit conservative gameplan, even though he used to play beautiful football.
Barca’s defense has been the better part of the unit, with Ter Stegen conceding only one goal in the past seven events. When looking only at the home games, Barcelona lost once this year, which happened against Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League group stage.
Manchester United (+333) quickly recovered following an unexpected tie at Old Trafford against Leeds. Wednesday’s contest ended 2-2, while Sunday’s at Elland Road against the same rival concluded with the Red Devils’ 0-2 victory.
Erik Ten Hag’s ideas only recently started producing good results, and in United’s 12 games after the New Year, the team won nine times. The other three contests saw two ties and one defeat against Arsenal on the road, 3-2.
This team looks more lively and stable, especially in the midfield. They know what and when to do, unlike in the opening few months when we saw the confusion on the pitch when Red Devils played. In the most recent five away meetings, United won three times, and is coming to Barcelona following back-to-back triumphs away from Trafford.
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Anthony is questionable for the game on Thursday, while Scott McTominay and Martial probably won’t play at all. Christian Eriksen and Donny van de Beek are out for a while now.
On the other side, Ousmane Dembele is unavailable.
Head to Head Games
There were 13 games between these two units, and Barca has a positive record with six wins, three losses and four ties. Two UCL finals were involved in 2009 and 2011, and on both occasions, Barcelona lifted the trophy. In 2009 in Rome, they won 2-0, and in 2011 at Wembley, Barca posted a 3-1 victory.
The most recent meetings were in the 2019 UCL quarterfinals when Barcelona eliminated United 4-0 on aggregate.
Prediction
These teams have solid defenses, and even though many would like to see it otherwise, we think both head coaches intend to use a more defensive-minded approach. This is the first game, and nobody wants to take any risks with the second 90 minutes in England waiting. Under 2.5 goals is set at +125, and this pick has a high value. Therefore, we are taking it.
Pick: Under 2.5 goals +125
Here are more UEFA Champions League Round of 16 previews:
Here are the previews for Europa League games:
Nikola Velickovic is a sports journalist who loves to write and read on all sports. Nikola contributes both news updates and functions as a sports breaking news writer at WagerBop.
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Email: nikola@wagerbop.com
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