Barcelonavs.Man City

The contest will represent Barcelona's first friendly of the summer, but Pep Guardiola's Man City have already played twice in the United States, losing to both Celtic and AC Milan.

Match preview

Barcelona have entered a new era under the leadership of Hansi Flick, and it will be fascinating to see how the German performs at Camp Nou, as there will be immediate pressure on him to deliver trophies.

The Catalan giants finished second in La Liga last term behind Real Madrid, while they were knocked out in the quarter-finals of both the Champions League and Copa del Rey.

Barcelona ended last season with four straight league wins to ensure that they finished above Girona in second spot in the table, and they will now tackle Man City, Real Madrid and AC Milan as part of their US Tour.

Flick's side will then take on Monaco in the Joan Gamper Trophy on August 12 before opening their La Liga season away to Valencia on August 17, with the new campaign just around the corner.

Barcelona's only signing so far this summer is Pau Victor from Girona, but the club are expected to be active in the coming weeks, with their leading target thought to be Athletic Bilbao's Nico Williams.

Man City, meanwhile, will begin their new campaign against Manchester United in the Community Shield on August 10, before opening their Premier League season away to Chelsea on August 18.

The Citizens have played twice since losing 2-1 to Man United in last season's FA Cup final, suffering a 4-3 defeat to Celtic in their pre-season opener before going down 3-2 to Milan on Saturday night.

Guardiola's side will round off their US Tour with matches against Barcelona and Chelsea, and their squad should be boosted by a number of returning players for the Community Shield.

Man City won a fourth straight Premier League title last season, but they fell short in the Champions League and FA Cup, so it was far from a perfect 2023-24 campaign.

The Citizens have only made one signing so far this summer, with Savinho arriving from Troyes, and the 20-year-old is expected to have a big part to play for the club next season.

Manchester City friendly form:

L

L

Team News

Barcelona boss Flick named a 31-man squad for the US Tour, and there are plenty of familiar faces in the selection, including fit-again Alejandro Balde.

Pedri, Frenkie de Jong, Gavi, Ronald Araujo and Ansu Fati are absent through injury, but Raphinha and Ilkay Gundogan will join up with the team on Monday, while Jules Kounde will also arrive on August 1.

Flick is expected to name an experienced side against Man City before making a host of changes at the break, with Robert Lewandowski set to lead the line.

Meanwhile, Victor, who spent last season on loan at Barcelona B from Girona, could make his Barcelona debut as a starter here, potentially joining Lewandowski and Vitor Roque in attack, with Ferran Torres and Lamine Yamal still on extended breaks after helping Spain win this summer's European Championship.

Fermin Lopez, Eric Garcia and Pau Cubarsi, meanwhile, are representing Spain at the Olympics.

As for Man City, the likes of Kyle Walker, Ruben Dias, John Stones, Nathan Ake, Manuel Akanji, Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Rodri and Jeremy Doku are all absent due to international commitments.

Julian Alvarez, who is being linked with a summer departure, is representing Argentina at the Olympics, meanwhile, so the Citizens are far from full strength.

Ederson's future continues to be called into question, with the goalkeeper potentially leaving this summer, but he should start between the sticks, while there are also expected to be spots in the XI for Mateo Kovacic, Oscar Bobb, James McAtee, Jack Grealish and Erling Haaland.

Barcelona possible starting lineup:

Ter Stegen; J Araujo, I Martinez, Christensen, Fort; Romeu, Gundogan, Torre; Roque, Lewandowski, Victor

Manchester City possible starting lineup:

Ederson; Lewis, Simpson-Pusey, Doyle, Gvardiol; Kovacic, Perrone; Bobb, McAtee, Grealish; Haaland

We say: Barcelona 2-2 Manchester City

Man City's two matches this summer have been full of goals, and we are expecting more entertainment here. Barcelona have enough quality to harm a youthful Man City defence, but the English champions will also fancy their chances of causing issues down the other end of the field.

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