Man Utd v Barcelona Betting Tips: Are we in for a Messi masterclass?
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Odds and preview for Champions League clash
Manchester United have already beaten Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, but they’ll have to raise their game even further to get a result against Barcelona tonight.
The Catalan club are almost certain to defend their La Liga title this term, but the Champions League is the trophy they really crave.
And with Lionel Messi in sensational form, United have it all to do in the first leg of this quarter-final tie. We’ve got all the pre-match info, ahead of kick-off at 8:00pm on BT Sport 2.
Head-to-Head
The last two meetings between these sides have both come in the Champions League Final, with Barca coming out on top both times. The 2011 Final saw Pep Guardiola’s side produce one of the all-time great club performances in a 3-1 win.
United got the better of them over two legs on their way to winning the competition in 2008 though. Paul Scholes’ long-range rocket was enough to seal the Red Devils’ place in the final.
Barcelona also haven’t won on any of their previous four visits to Old Trafford. United will hope that streak continues tonight.
Likely XIs
Man Utd: De Gea; Young, Smalling, Lindelof, Shaw; McTominay, Pogba; Dalot, Lingard, Rashford; Lukaku
Barcelona: Ter Stegen; Roberto, Pique, Lenglet, Alba; Busquets, Rakitic, Arthur; Messi, Suarez, Coutinho
Ander Herrera and Nemanja Matic could both miss out for United, which would mean Scott McTominay has a huge job on his hands in midfield.
Diogo Dalot could start ahead of Ashley Young on the right to provide extra protection against Jordi Alba’s attacking forays.
For Barcelona, Ernesto Valverde’s main dilemma comes in midfield. Does he go with Arthur’s sharp passing or the more physical approach of Arturo Vidal?
Ousmane Dembele’s injury also gives Philippe Coutinho another chance to answer his critics.
Key Battles
United will likely sit deep and look to use their pace on the counter. They can’t afford to be too open and give Messi space to exploit.
Solskjaer will need a disciplined display from Paul Pogba, especially alongside the inexperienced McTominay.
Messi is the obvious danger man for Barcelona, but Ivan Rakitic tends to make them tick. Keep him quiet and the visitors could find it hard to get into their rhythm.
That being said, Luis Suarez only needs a sight of goal to make it count. The former Liverpool star would love to score at Old Trafford.
Match Odds
We’ve got Barcelona as 19/20 favourites here. After a run of one win in four, United are back at 27/10, with 5/2 about the draw.
But Barca didn’t look secure at the back in last week’s 4-4 draw with Villarreal. Barcelona and Both Teams to Score is 13/5, while we go 14/1 for a 3-1 Barcelona win.
After bagging 10 goals in his last six games, Messi is 5/2 to open the scoring or 7/2 to get two or more. There’s also 7/5 about Suarez netting at any point.
Our traders have Lukaku as United’s likeliest scorer at 2/1 anytime, with Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford both sitting at 5/2.
View the latest Man Utd v Barcelona odds at Coral.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing
