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All eyes across the world will be glued to the television screens when two of the biggest footballing sides in Europe clash in a standout fixture of the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals. Manchester United and Barcelona have given us some exhilarating games in the past and something similar will be expected when the two teams face each other once again after 8 years. The Red Devils will seek revenge for the Champions League final humiliation at the hands of the Blaugrana back in 2011.
Manchester United will be buzzing with confidence after their historic comeback against Paris Saint-Germain in the Round of 16. After the 2-0 humbling at home against PSG, the chances of United getting into the quarter-finals looked slim. The Red Devils were without 10 key first-team players for the match due to injury, but that didn't dampen the spirit of the players and the manager going into the second leg. A brace from Romelu Lukaku and a brilliant last-minute penalty from Marcus Rashford sent Manchester United through to the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
Barcelona will be the favourites going into the game, especially with their talisman Lionel Messi in unstoppable form this season. The Little Magician has scored 43 goals and contributed 15 assists so far this season. He single-handedly carried Barcelona into the quarter-finals, scoring 2 and assisting another 2 in the 5-1 demolition of Lyon in the second leg of the Champions League Round of 16. Manchester United will be wary of the threat he possesses and will be readying a plan in order to stop him.
Although Barcelona have been sensational this season, there are some weak links Manchester United can exploit in order to get past them in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. Here, we take a look at the 3 weak links Ole Gunnar Solksjaer's men can take advantage of:
#1 Luiz Suarez's terrible away form in the Champions League
The Uruguayan has been Barcelona's most influential player alongside Lionel Messi this season, scoring 23 goals and contributing 9 assists across all competitions. But the 32-year-old will be worried about his Champions League goal-scoring form.
The centre-forward is yet to score a goal in this season's Champions League campaign. But what's more worrying is his away goal-scoring record in the competition. Suarez has failed to score in his last 16 Champions League away games, which adds up to 24 hours of football.
Manchester United will be cherishing his away goal-scoring record in the tournament and will be looking to make it 17 away UCL game without a goal for Luis Suarez in order to get something out of the game at the end of 90 minutes.
#2 Barca's right-back issue
Sergi Roberto and Nelson Semedo have been Barcelona's right-back options this season and have shared minutes between them. Sergi Roberto used to play as a midfielder during his time at La Masia, but Luis Enrique transformed him into a right-back during his final season at the club.
The versatile Spaniard offers Barcelona quality going forward with his dribbling and passing but isn't defensively astute. The 27-year-old struggles in 1v1 situations and leaves huge spaces for opposition wingers to exploit when he manoeuvres forward.
Nelson Semedo has improved a lot from last season and is getting more playing time. He is another player who loves to bomb forward whenever given the opportunity, leaving acres of space behind him. He also struggles with his positioning at the back, leaving him vulnerable in 1v1 situations. Both right-backs don't offer the same defensive solidity as Jordi Alba on the left and Manchester United can look to exploit the right-wing with the pace of Anthony Martial or Marcus Rashford.
#3 Sergio Busquets is waning
Sergio Busquets is one of the best, if not the very best, defensive midfielders in the world. The Spaniard has been an integral member of the Barcelona squad for nearly a decade now. The midfielder is the key for the possession-based football Barcelona like to play. He is the one who dictates the tempo of the game from midfield and drops deep whenever the full-backs bomb forward. Busquets is so crucial to Barcelona that if he has a bad game, the whole team suffers.
But the midfielder has turned 30 this season and his powers are waning with age. He is not performing to the best of his abilities and is enduring a rough patch of form. He has been caught sleeping on the ball too many times and has been misplacing a lot of passes this season.
Manchester United can exploit this to their advantage and Paul Pogba will be the key for them. If Pogba manages to get past Busquets during counter-attacks, it will leave Barcelona defensively vulnerable as the full-backs are usually higher up the pitch, and a through ball to one of the strikers will leave them 1v1 with the centre-backs.
