Manchester Utd – Barcelona Tips Free Betting Tips
After beating Leicester 3-0 in the Premier League on Sunday, Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag was filmed addressing his team’s supporters as he approached the tunnel at Old Trafford. At the post-match press conference, ten Hag revealed what he told them: “Come on Thursday. Make sure you’re there and together we’ll beat Barcelona.” The Red Devils, who drew 2-2 in a pulsating first leg at the Camp Nou, face a crucial week in their campaign as they look to progress to the last 16 of the UEFA Europa League (UEL) on Thursday before contesting the Carabao Cup final against Newcastle.
Man Utd have lost just two of their last 11 European competition home games (G6, E3, P2), although those two defeats have come against LaLiga sides. The most recent was against Real Sociedad in the current edition of the UEL, and since then, Ten Hag’s side have strung together an impressive run of 17 official matches unbeaten at their stadium (G15, E2). Old Trafford is returning to the fortress of yesteryear.
Barça’s last visit to the Theatre of Dreams ended in a 1-0 win (Champions League 2018-19, quarter-finals), and this time they travel to Manchester with the important absences of Gavi (suspended) and Pedri (injured). “I’m proud of the team, we gave everything,” said FC Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez after the first leg. The Azulgranas did not suffer from fatigue and beat Cadiz 2-0 three days later, maintaining their eight-point lead as LaLiga leaders and extending their unbeaten run to 18 games (G16, E2), which boosts Xavi’s side’s confidence to storm Old Trafford.
However, Barça have shown poor away reliability in recent times in European competitions, winning just three of their nine most recent outings (G3, E2, P4). It is also worth remembering that the azulgrana team lost 4-0 on their last visit to England (Liverpool, Champions League 2018-19 semifinals), suffering their heaviest defeat against a Premier League club.
Key battle: David de Gea equaled against Leicester Peter Schmeichel’s clean sheet record with United (180), but has never kept a clean sheet against Barça in his career (six meetings with Atleti and Man Utd, 12 goals conceded). One of his biggest threats will be Robert Lewandowski, whose 38 goals in 32 games in major UEFA competitions since the start of the 2018-19 season surpasses the scoring records of any other player.
Key stat: Including the first leg, Barcelona have failed to score in the opening 45 minutes in seven of their last 11 European matches.
OVER 2.5 GOALS Odds: 2.00
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