Man United vs Barcelona Preview & Prediction

Match preview

Barcelona and Manchester United will resume their battle at Old Trafford on Thursday night to decide who advances from their Europa League knockout phase playoff encounter after the first leg lived up to the pre-match anticipation.

The two European powerhouses, who met in the Champions League final just 12 years ago, drew 2-2 last week at Camp Nou, and a thrilling matchup is anticipated at the Theatre of Dreams.

The Red Devils, who could theoretically still finish the season with a quadruple, are preparing for Sunday’s EFL Cup final against Newcastle United and an FA Cup fifth-round matchup against West Ham United, so talk of a potential Premier League title challenge is by no means unjustified.

The next two weeks, which include a trip to Anfield on March 5 and an unbeaten streak of eight games across all competitions, can undoubtedly be classified as a season-defining stretch for Manchester United, who have scored at least two goals in each of their previous nine games.

For a cash-strapped Barcelona, being dropped to the second division of European football for the second year in a row was nothing short of terrible. They are currently 90 minutes away from another early exit from continental play, albeit this one might not have such severe repercussions.

With Xavi now in charge, Barcelona has a commanding eight-point lead over Real Madrid at the top of the La Liga standings. At the weekend, Barcelona easily defeated Cadiz 2-0 to get back on track. Sergi Roberto and Robert Lewandowski each scored once.

Manchester United vs Barcelona form guide

Manchester United’s last 5 games -WWWDW

Leads	0 – 2	Man United
Man United	2 – 2	Leads
Man United	2 – 1	Crystal Palace
Man United	2 – 0	Nottingham forest
Man United	3 – 1	Reading

Barcelona’s last 5 games – DDWWW

Villarreal	3 – 0	Barcelona
Barcelona	0 – 3	Sevilla
Real Betis	2 – 1	Barcelona
Girona	0 – 2	Barcelona
Barcelona	2 – 2	Real Sociedad

Key stats

Barcelona have a good record against Manchester United on the European front and have won six out of the 14 matches played between the two teams, as opposed to Manchester United’s three victories.
Barcelona have lost four of their five European matches away from home against Manchester United but did manage to win their most recent such game by a 1-0 margin in 2019.
Manchester United have lost only two of their last 11 games at home in Europe but have suffered both these defeats at the hands of Spanish opponents.
Marcus Rashford has averaged a goal every 76 minutes for Manchester United in the UEFA Europa League – the best scoring rate in the competition so far.
Since the start of the 2019-20 season, Robert Lewandowski has scored 38 goals in 32 appearances in European competitions – more than any other player during this period.

Manchester United vs Barcelona prediction

Man United’s ruthless charges have slaughtered numerous rivals at Old Trafford this season, and an absentee-hit Barcelona should become the latest victims of the Red Devils’ domination, even with the danger of an impending EFL Cup final to derail their line of thinking. Hence we go with the following pickings in this fixture: