Manchester City vs Barcelona
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola will hope his team picks up a first win of pre-season when they meet the club where he made his name as a player and a coach.
Club Friendly: Manchester City vs Barcelona is the eye-catching clash of the week as the Sky Blues take on the Catalan giants in Orlando on Tuesday. And Guardiola will catch up with some good friends from the Camp Nou where he made 263 appearances as a defensive midfielder, and where he cut his teeth as a manager, winning three La Liga titles and two Champions Leagues.
At the Etihad Stadium he has so far won six Premier League titles and one Champions League; so Manchester City and Barcelona are the teams who love Pep the most.
Even so, the City boss will be super keen to beat his old mates who are playing their first game on their 2024 tour of the USA. The warm-up game will be played at the Camping World Stadium in Orlando, with a capacity of 75,000, hosting matches at the 1994 World Cup, and Soccer fans in Florida will flock to see some of the biggest stars on the planet.
Talking Points
City’s Pre-Season is yet to take off
Friendly games are a chance for new signings to bed in, existing players to get back to full fitness and the manager to run the rule over his squad, and to begin the fine tuning in preparation for the start of hostilities, which are looming ever larger. Results don’t really matter at this stage, but then nobody at this elite level likes losing, and with two defeats in their pre-season the Sky Blues will be ever keener to get a win under their belts. After losing 4-3 to Scottish club Glasgow Celtic, City fell to a 3-2 loss to AC Milan in New York.
Erling Haaland was on the score sheet against Milan, putting the English Champions ahead but Rico Lewis looked rusty, being caught out twice as the Rossoneri turned the match around. The wingback earned an assist when he crossed for James McAtee to head home but, as both teams went for the winner, it was the Serie A side which edged it. Guardiola has bemoaned the hectic pre-season schedule and he is missing some of his biggest stars. Euro 2024 Player of the Tournament Rodri didn’t travel with the Sky Blues but he may be one of the big names to join mid-tour, while Kevin De Bruyne too wasn’t in the first cut, though he has recently delighted City fans with his decision to turn down an eye-watering £156m move to Al Ittihad in the Saudi Pro League.
Barcelona too are without some of the players who were so prominent at Euro 2024, with three La Roja stars all absent. Lamine Yamal and Ferran Torres are still on holiday while Fermin Lopez is at the Olympics; but fans can expect to see Robert Lewadowski and Inigo Martinez, while Ilkay Gundogan and Raphinha will also join the squad in Orlando on Monday.
Both City and Barca fancy Olmo
One side issue to the game is the news emerging from Manchester that the Sky Blues have joined the race to sign Euro 2024 star Dani Olmo. The Red Bull Leipzig man was one of our SBOTOP picks for the best players at the Championships in Germany where he shared the Golden Boot, scoring three goals and making two assists. And now the 26 year old is one of the hottest properties in world football.
With 11 goals in 39 internationals and 17 goals in 107 appearances for Die Roten Bullen, Olmo is one of the best creative midfielders in the business; and in Germany he showed off some dazzling ball skills and a clinical finish. As a youngster Olmo played for Barcelona and has been linked with a return, while Manchester City have recently joined the race.
History
The head to head Manchester City vs Barcelona results are in the Catalans’ favour with five wins to two in their eight meetings and a draw on the last time the two teams met in a charity match at the Camp Nou in 2022. A late Riyad Mahrez penalty made it a 3-3 draw and I expect we’ll see plenty of goalmouth action again in Orlando on Wednesday.
Since Guardiola left Barcelona 12 years ago he has met the Blaugrana five times, and his record is two wins and two losses as boss of FC Bayern and then Manchester City.
This is a friendly fixture but the Manchester City vs Barcelona betting odds will no doubt predict a tight clash. The Sky Blues certainly don’t want to lose again and I suspect they will pick up a victory against Barca. .
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