Europa League Play-off 1st Leg

Barcelona 2:2 Manchester United

Camp Nou

Kick-off
Thu, 16 February 2023 @ 5:45pm GMT
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Discussion Your Lineup Prediction

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    Pronewbie said:
    Dreadful. This could turn out to be our PSG moment by the way, though I wouldnt mind getting knocked out if only because I prefer Saturday kick offs.
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    Yeap. We don't have the depth to play in all four competitions. It will take its toll in March/April.
     
    I'd go for Rashford ahead of Weghorst, with Fernandez on the right. The combo gives us the best of both worlds. We have the threat of Rashford in behind, which will be huge for playing on the counter, but we also have Weghorst's hold-up. I understand some people might balk at the prospect of playing Weghorst as a "#10", but it's basically a classic "little and large" duo. Bruno tucking in to offer some creativity, with Dalot providing the width. Honestly not sue who I would trust more on the left wing out of Sancho and Garnacho. I feel like Garnacho can create more on his own and he might be isolated a lot.

    De Gea
    Dalot Varane Shaw Malacia
    Casemiro Fred
    Fernandez Weghorst Garnacho
    Rashford​
     
    Red the Bear said:
    So stoked for this.

    I really don't care for europa that much especially if we could have a run at the league however unlikely but beating these lot is a must.
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    Don't see how it's a must?
    A must would be winning the cup final and keeping pressure in the League with the bonus of pushing on in the FA cup as squad depth allows.

    While I would love us to smash these lot, anyone watching La Liga would tell you they will not be easy at all.
    To expect we should win though may just be setting yourself up for bitter disappointment. But far be it from me to temper others expectations. :wenger:
     
    ti vu said:
    Even this hard working, pressing no 10 Weghorst would not be any use. Beside tactic, Barcelona happened to have some of the most press resistant midfielder.
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    Yeah good point. WW would be largely useless against such midfield and a high line. Agree we'd better start Garnacho.
     
    If I am United or Barca’s manager, I would rather lose here and focus on the EPL/La Liga. Barca is the league leader so no brainer there, but United is just 5 points off the league leaders, the best chance in years to challenge for the EPL. Europa just isn’t worth it
     
    De Jong will run the game tonight and show exactly why we need him a scholes, carrick hybrid.

    Phenomenal player and now we won’t get him:(.


    DDG
    AWB Varane Shaw Malacia
    Fred Casemiro Bruno
    Antony Rashford Garnacho

    We will counter them. Is Antony available? If not Garnacho-Wout-rashford
     
    What’s funny is that these are probably the two most in form teams in the world at the moment. This usually would have been a heavyweight CL clash that’s taking place in the EL round of 32. Such a waste.
     
    Ole's screen said:
    What’s funny is that these are probably the two most in form teams in the world at the moment. This usually would have been a heavyweight CL clash that’s taking place in the EL round of 32. Such a waste.
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    Round of 24! Show some respect.
     
    sullydnl said:
    As it stands the bookmakers have us at 20/1 to win the title, an implied probability of 4.76%. ETH would be correct not to have much belief in that "huge chance". The aim in the league was and still is top four.

    Conversely we're 6/1 to win the EL, an implied probability of 14.3%. If the man wants trophies then this is a more likely avenue. And trophies aside, it's a European tie against Barcelona. Of course he's going to field his strongest side.
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    So our managers should now check with bookmakers first to see which competitions to prioritise.

    Arsenal were 40/1 before the season began so Arteta should have just played the kids.

    Ranieri's Leicester were 5000/1 and on your logic should have just stayed home and forfeited all games.

    If bookmaker's quoted prices were so highly accurate, we'd all be millionaires betting on favourites.
     
    sullydnl said:
    As it stands the bookmakers have us at 20/1 to win the title, an implied probability of 4.76%. ETH would be correct not to have much belief in that "huge chance". The aim in the league was and still is top four.

    Conversely we're 6/1 to win the EL, an implied probability of 14.3%. If the man wants trophies then this is a more likely avenue. And trophies aside, it's a European tie against Barcelona. Of course he's going to field his strongest side.
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    Yeah that's how it works, Erik logs onto Paddy Power before selecting his team :rolleyes:
     
    GMoore23 said:
    So our managers should now check with bookmakers first to see which competitions to prioritise.

    Arsenal were 40/1 before the season began so Arteta should have just played the kids.

    Ranieri's Leicester were 5000/1 and on your logic should have just stayed home and forfeited all games.

    If bookmaker's quoted prices were so highly accurate, we'd all be millionaires betting on favourites.
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    They're not always accurate but at 60% through the season and in a supposed three-horse race, they're a reality check.

    We're five points behind two different teams who have been better than us for quite a while, one of whom has a game in hand, with an on-paper weaker team than both and a manager who has only had a fraction of the time to get us playing as he'd like. That isn't a "huge chance", it's a very unlikely one. Something both the oddsmakers and ETH understand.

    You can't expect ETH to put out a second string team against a side like Barcelona in a competition he clearly has a much better chance of winning for the sake of chasing fairytales. He has to try and win what's in front of him, especially given a EL win is another avenue towards securing CL football next season, which has always been this season's primary goal.
     
    Looking forward to this. Kind of going into as a free hit. Will be delighted if we progress but not too disheartened if we don’t.

    De Gea

    Wan-Bissaka - Varane - Shaw - Malacia

    Casemiro - Fred

    Sancho - B.Fernandes - Garnacho

    Rashford​

    Heaton, Butland, Dalot, Lindelof, Maguire, Iqbal, Mainoo, Pellistri, Weghorst, Elanga

    Barcelona 2-1 Manchester United
     
    sullydnl said:
    They're not always accurate but at 60% through the season and in a supposed three-horse race, they're a reality check.

    We're five points behind two different teams who have been better than us for quite a while, one of whom has a game in hand, with an on-paper weaker team than both and a manager who has only had a fraction of the time to get us playing as he'd like. That isn't a "huge chance", it's a very unlikely one. Something both the oddsmakers and ETH understand.

    You can't expect ETH to put out a second string team against a team like Barcelona in a competition he clearly has a much better chance of winninb for the sake of chasing fairytales. He has to try and win what's in front of him, especially given a EL win is another avenue towards securing CL football next season, which has always been this season's primary goal.
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    We’re only 5 points behind them. I don’t understand how they’ve been better than us for a while?
    Surely the table itself tells a different story?
     
    cyberman said:
    We’re only 5 points behind them. I don’t understand how they’ve been better than us for a while?
    Surely the table itself tells a different story?
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    We're five points behind both of them. We're not chasing down just one team, which makes it a significantly more difficult five point gap. Especially when one of those teams also has a game in hand on us.

    Arsenal have been consistently ahead of us in the table for what, a year and a half at least? Obviously much longer again in City's case. And in terms of actual performance levels they're both clearly much further along in development than us, as judged through whatever underlying stats you like or simply by watching how all three teams play. It shouldn't need explaining why both are generally considered better sides than us at the moment, not just sides who happen to be ahead of us in the table for the time being.

    Or indeed why a team with City's squad in particular would be heavily favoured over a team with ours, even if we were starting the run in from an equal position. Just take a look at both teams' centre-forward options, for a start.

    It's one thing to believe a mini-miracle might happen in the league, it's another to expect ETH to basically throw a game against Barcelona in an obviously much more winnable competition by fielding a second string side just for the sake of chasing that mini-miracle.
     
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    Strelok said:
    I was of the opinion ETH won't start WW next match. However looking at how limited our forwards options are he'd start I think. Elanga has been poor and Garnacho has been better from the bench. Plus it's a tough match you'd need some experience there.
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    I think this is a rare game where Weghorst makes less sense than Elanga, as we won't control midfield with Bruno-Fred-Eriksen at the Nou Camp. Sancho out left is the best option, but I could see the case for Elanga soaking up an hour before Garnacho comes on and Rashford switches to up front.
     
    NoPace said:
    I think this is a rare game where Weghorst makes less sense than Elanga, as we won't control midfield with Bruno-Fred-Eriksen at the Nou Camp. Sancho out left is the best option, but I could see the case for Elanga soaking up an hour before Garnacho comes on and Rashford switches to up front.
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    Agree Elanga or Garnacho starting makes more sense.
     
    Sort of looks like a bad matchup. You'd want to attack that Gavi-Balde left side and we aren't healthy there. Also Rashford has tough opponents in Kounde and Araujo.

    This is the sort of game where you can see why Ten Hag wanted Timber, he could play RB and tuck in to mark Gavi at times and be the free man in possession when he gets wide of him and give us some poise on the ball.

    Fred has to get the better of Pedri it looks like, and Kessie hopefully has a bad passing game since he might have a bit of freedom compared to the others in midfield.

    Do think we can beat them at Old Trafford.
     
    Not feeling optimistic about this. Barcelona, despite being a shambles and a disgrace off the field, are an excellent side.

    Happy if proven wrong though.
     
    sullydnl said:
    We're five points behind both of them. We're not chasing down just one team, which makes it a significantly more difficult five point gap. Especially when one of those teams also has a game in hand on us.

    Arsenal have been consistently ahead of us in the table for what, a year and a half at least? Obviously much longer again in City's case. And in terms of actual performance levels they're both clearly much further along in development than us, as judged through whatever underlying stats you like or simply by watching how all three teams play. It shouldn't need explaining why both are generally considered better sides than us at the moment, not just sides who happen to be ahead of us in the table for the time being.

    Or indeed why a team with City's squad in particular would be heavily favoured over a team with ours, even if we were starting the run in from an equal position. Just take a look at both teams' centre-forward options, for a start.

    It's one thing to believe a mini-miracle might happen in the league, it's another to expect ETH to basically throw a game against Barcelona in an obviously much more winnable competition by fielding a second string side just for the sake of chasing that mini-miracle.
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    Since the third game of the season no team has won more points than us.
    And both teams are only 5 points ahead of us because we have played each twice and they still have a game left to play. Even now the table is a lot closer than it looks, the table is lying to us.
     
    No idea why Marca thinks we'll play Weghorst on the left wing

    16764890111568.png
     
    horsechoker said:
    No idea why Marca thinks we'll play Weghorst on the left wing

    16764890111568.png
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    I might be jinxing it but Barca seem to have a chronic lack of pace there. There’s nothing stopping us pushing up to where they like to keep the ball without the threat of a ball over the top.
     
    Where is the press conference or any team news in this thread for this match?

    Assuming we have Casemiro in and Sabitzer and Martinez out for suspension and Antony, Eriksen and Martial out due to injury.

    The team picks itself, the only dilemma is whether to start Garnacho or Sancho. I would start Sancho because he will give us more control as he is a better passer and we can always bring on Garnacho against tired legs it will be more effective.

    Another possible tweak is we can play Wout as number 10 and try to bypass midfield altogether. Plus we can try to bully Barca with Cas, Fred and Wout. Although I doubt Wout has the capability of doing that despite such a large frame.

    CAS and Fred are perfect for bullying them and made snide fouls, disrupting their rhtym and never letting them settle. That's how we can get a draw from there.

    Once we get back home after shithousing our way through the first match. With Martial (Hopefully), Antony, Sabitzer and Martinez back I will be more confident of competing against these lot.

    Today I am dreading the worst, they will pass us to death
     
    It's a really good test of our mentality. Have we rid ourselves of the fear we showed against City away earlier in the season? A draw would be a very good result to take back. Whatever happens we need to avoid extra time in the return leg.
     
    dal said:
    De Jong will run the game tonight and show exactly why we need him a scholes, carrick hybrid.
    Phenomenal player and now we won’t get him:(.


    DDG
    AWB Varane Shaw Malacia
    Fred Casemiro Bruno
    Antony Rashford Garnacho

    We will counter them. Is Antony available? If not Garnacho-Wout-rashford
    Click to expand...

    It ain't for the lack of trying. We couldn't have done more to try get him.
     
    Buzzing for this game! Like ETH said, this should be a final match. Both managers have praised each other and respected the teams. Let’s give it our best shot and come away with something to take to OT. Hope we’re still in it for the 2nd leg as I’m going to OT next week!
     
    wangyu said:
    WTH Sabitzer is suspended as well? FFS we're going to get massacred with all those suspensions and injuries.
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    I don't think he'd have started regardless. Think Fred would have been prefered over there.

    Sure Casemiro will be right up for this, he's had a few days rest and a game against his old enemy to look forward to.

    I'd take any result up to a loss by one goal and bring it back to old Trafford, with hopefully more options available to us.
     
    de Gea
    Wan-Bissaka Varane Shaw Malacia
    Casemiro Fred
    Sancho Bruno Rashford
    Weghorst​

    I'm still finding it hard to see this team not being selected, but I could also imagine EtH making a big call such as starting Dalot on the right side of the attack or playing Elanga at no.9.

    If it's 0-0 after 70 minutes, we'll definitely see Garnacho, Elanga and Dalot IMO to try and push for a goal on the break (if my starting XI is correct).
     
    Damn stupid kick off time! Anyone have any links to where I can watch it on replay later please please please?
     
    Fahad Jawaid said:
    Where is the press conference or any team news in this thread for this match?

    Assuming we have Casemiro in and Sabitzer and Martinez out for suspension and Antony, Eriksen and Martial out due to injury.

    The team picks itself, the only dilemma is whether to start Garnacho or Sancho. I would start Sancho because he will give us more control as he is a better passer and we can always bring on Garnacho against tired legs it will be more effective.

    Another possible tweak is we can play Wout as number 10 and try to bypass midfield altogether. Plus we can try to bully Barca with Cas, Fred and Wout. Although I doubt Wout has the capability of doing that despite such a large frame.

    CAS and Fred are perfect for bullying them and made snide fouls, disrupting their rhtym and never letting them settle. That's how we can get a draw from there.

    Once we get back home after shithousing our way through the first match. With Martial (Hopefully), Antony, Sabitzer and Martinez back I will be more confident of competing against these lot.

    Today I am dreading the worst, they will pass us to death
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    Sabitzer and Licha will be back for second leg,however didn't Erik suggest that the others could make the League Cup Final
     
    I’d take a 2-0 loss over both legs if it means we can focus on the league and winning the league cup final
     
    Feels like a season to soon for United. But that gives United a free hit. I just hope a defeat doesn’t affect the momentum too much.

    Whatever happens they need to be at it come the weekend.
     
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Post-match discussion

Man of the Match

Marcus Rashford image Marcus Rashford 72% of 300 votes

Runners-up

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Player Ratings

6.6 Total Average Rating

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Compiled from 277 ratings.
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Score Predictions

55,94,84
  • Man Utd win
  • Barcelona win
  • Draw

Detailed Results

  • 27% Barcelona 1:1 Man Utd
  • 16% Barcelona 2:1 Man Utd
  • 12% Barcelona 1:2 Man Utd
  • 12% Barcelona 2:0 Man Utd
  • 6% Barcelona 0:1 Man Utd
  • 5% Barcelona 1:0 Man Utd
  • 4% Barcelona 0:0 Man Utd
  • 4% Barcelona 2:2 Man Utd
  • 4% Barcelona 3:1 Man Utd
  • 3% Barcelona 3:0 Man Utd
  • 3% Barcelona 0:2 Man Utd
  • 1% Barcelona 1:3 Man Utd
  • 1% Barcelona 0:3 Man Utd
  • 0% Barcelona 4:0 Man Utd
  • 0% Barcelona 1:4 Man Utd
  • 0% Barcelona 5:0 Man Utd
  • 0% Barcelona 0:9 Man Utd
  • 0% Barcelona 5:1 Man Utd
  • 0% Barcelona 9:1 Man Utd
Compiled from 233 predictions.
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Match Stats

  1. Barcelona
  2. Man Utd
Possession
61% 39%
Shots
18 18
Shots on Target
8 5
Corners
8 5
Fouls
10 12

Referee

Maurizio Mariani

Man Utd Lineup

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