Manchester United will be going in search of the upper hand when they face Spanish heavyweights Barcelona in the first-leg of their Europa League knockout round play-off tie at the Camp Nou on Thursday evening.
United, who have not tasted victory over the La Liga giants since April 2008, will be looking to build on Sunday's 2-0 triumph over rivals Leeds United and put themselves in a strong position ahead of the return leg at Old Trafford next week. The Reds, who defeated Leeds with late goals from Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho, missed out on top spot in their Europa League group on goal difference, meaning they must navigate their way through two clashes with Barcelona to reach the last-16.
United and Barcelona are among the favourites to win the Europa League this season, along with the likes of Arsenal and Juventus, meaning both sides will fancy their chances of going the full distance if victorious at the end of this two-legged showdown. Barcelona dropped into the competition after crashing out of the Champions League in the group stage.
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After three Premier League fixtures in just over a week, United will no doubt welcome the break from domestic action and be licking their lips at the challenge of facing Barcelona, who they have faced in several iconic fixtures down the years. Manager Erik ten Hag has treated the Europa League with the utmost respect this season, and that trend will continue in Spain.
David de Gea has started every fixture in the competition so far this season and that theme is set to continue against the five-times Champions League winners. He has kept four clean sheets during those six appearances and adding a fifth to his tally would undoubtedly represent a good result for the Reds ahead of the second-leg.
Ahead of De Gea, Ten Hag is likely to make just one change to the back four that started at Elland Road on Sunday, handing a recall to Raphael Varane at the expense of captain Harry Maguire. The Frenchman was left out of the starting line-up in West Yorkshire, presumably with half an eye on the clash with Barcelona.
Diogo Dalot is expected to continue at right-back, as is Tyrell Malacia in the left-back berth, while Luke Shaw is expected to partner Varane in the heart of the defence in the absence of the suspended Lisandro Martinez. The Argentine misses the trip to Spain after picking up three yellow cards during the group stage.
In midfield, United will be boosted by the return of midfield enforcer Casemiro. The former Real Madrid man is free to play after missing the last two Premier League fixtures through suspension, though he still has one more league game to sit-out.
The Brazilian will slot straight back into the defensive-midfield berth and will almost certainly be joined by fellow countryman Fred, considering Christian Eriksen (injured) and Marcel Sabitzer (suspended) are both unavailable. Architect-in-chief Bruno Fernandes is poised to complete the midfield trio.
Ten Hag faces a tough call in attack, though he is still without both Anthony Martial and Antony through injury. Rashford has scored each of his last three goals from the centre-forward position after mid-game tactical switches, and he could start through the middle in the Camp Nou in place of loanee Wout Weghorst.
If that proves to be the case, he is likely to be supported out wide by Jadon Sancho and Garnacho. The latter stepped off the bench at the weekend to score.
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