Manchester United manager Erik Ten Hag has made major changes to his starting line-up to face Barcelona at Old Trafford tonight. Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea is covered in defence, with Lisandro Martinez, Raphael Varane, Aaron Wan Bissaka and Luke Shaw. Man United's midfield consists of Fred, Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes while the attack consists of Marcus Rashford, Wout Weghorst and Jadon Sancho. Man United's bench includes Heaton, Dalot, Lindelof, Maguire, Malacia, Mainoo, McTominay, Facundo Pellistri, Sabitzer, Antony, Elanga and Garnacho as substitutes.
Barcelona manager Xavi made major last-minute changes to his starting line-up to face Man United at the Theater of Dreams with the departure of the goalkeeper. Ter Stegen. Barcelona's defense will consist of Araujo, Balde, Kounde and Christensen while the midfield will include Sergio Busquests, Frenkie De Jong and Frenckie Kessie. Barcelona's attack will consist of Robert Lewandowski, Roberto and Raphinha while the bench will include Ansu Fati, Torres, Marcos, Alba, Inaki, Erik, Pena, Casaido, Pablo Torre and Tenas.
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Barcelona manager Xavi expects them to compete for Europe's top trophies again next season even though they made their first appearance in 25 years on Thursday.
Since the 1998-99 season, when they failed to qualify for the Champions League group stage whose final treble winners were Manchester United, Barcelona have failed to reach the last 16 of a European tournament.
Such is their fate this season after a 1-2 loss at Old Trafford left them out of the Europa League.
It continues a recent run of bad matches in Europe for Barca, who have failed to qualify for the Champions League group stage for the past two seasons, being beaten 4-1 at home by PSG in the last 16. A humiliating 2-8 defeat to Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals.
"Hopefully next season," Xavi said when asked when the club, which has reached the last eight for 14 consecutive seasons until 2021, will re-enter the later stages. "Last year we couldn't play in Europe. This year we have Bayern, Inter and Manchester United. We have to improve. But we did well and will come back even stronger next season. ."
Barcelona's season is something of a mystery.
As United manager Erik ten Hag has pointed out, they top La Liga with eight points and won the Spanish Super Cup last month after beating Real Madrid, who beat Liverpool at Anfield. “We watched Real Madrid against Liverpool,” said the Dutchman. "We beat a very good opponent."
It was Barcelona's first defeat since October and ended their 18-match unbeaten run.
Xavi said his side missed out on influence in midfield from Gavi, who is suspended, and Pedri, who missed the game at Old Trafford through injury.
"They are important players," he said. "They always have time on the ball and can turn around looking for space. If they had played, we wouldn't have had so many problems."
But Xavi also said his team had trouble managing the game, despite taking the lead in the first half and appearing to be in control.
In both legs, longtime United target Frenkie de Jong failed to impress and once United replaced Wout Weghorst with Antony, Barcelona, ??who were joined by Manchester City chief executive Ferran Soriano, and technical director Txiki Begiristain, who, like coach Pep Guardiola, watched. accustomed to working at the Nou Camp, could not keep up with the home team.
After serious financial problems, Xavi hopes that at least this summer the club will become more competitive in the transfer market.
"Let's see what we can do in the summer transfer window," he said. "If we have enough room when it comes to financial fair play. "We had a couple of years where we couldn't compete."
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