Barcelona vs Manchester United tips

Barcelona have never lost a home match against Manchester United in European competition (W2 D2), with their last such meeting finishing 0-0 in April 2008.
Of the 70 previous occasions when a side won a Champions League knockout tie first leg away from home, just four have been eliminated (6 per cent). However, two of those instances have been in this season’s competition, including once by Manchester United, against PSG.
Barcelona have progressed from 39 of their 41 European ties in which they won the first leg away from home; the exceptions were against FC Koln in the 1980-81 UEFA Cup, and against Metz in the 1984-85 Cup Winners’ Cup.
Barcelona are unbeaten in their last 30 UEFA Champions League home games, the longest such run in the competition (W27 D3). They have also not conceded more than once in any of those 30 games (15 goals in total) since a 0-3 loss to Bayern Munich in the 2012-13 semi-finals.
Manchester United have lost 49 Champions League games – they could become the ninth different club to reach 50 defeats in the competition, and just the second English side (Arsenal, 53).

Ernesto Valverde’s side went to Old Trafford six days ago with a plan and it worked.

Luis Suárez’s header deflected in off Luke Shaw in the 12th minute and Barça lea 1-0, after video review.

After that, the Catalan side showed very little ambition to get a second and were very happy with a solitary goal lead.

That’s probably partly due to their outstanding home form.

That win also means Barcelona’s four Champions League victories against Man United have all come in different stadiums: Camp Nou, Stadio Olimpico, Wembley and Old Trafford.

They don’t need to win this one but can they finish the job?

At the weekend, they made wholesale changes in a 0-0 draw at La Liga’s bottom club Huesca.

Nevertheless, they’re still 9 points clear of Atlético Madrid and well on course for an 8th title in 11 seasons.

However, this is the trophy they crave.

Will they get through to the semi-finals for the first time since they last won this title in 2015?

What we can expect from this tie is a few goals. 16 of Barcelona’s last 20 home games in the Champions League have seen at least three goals scored, as have each of Manchester United’s last four away games in the competition. Since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took charge, Man Utd have seen three or more goals in seven of their 12 competitive games.

All things considered, we can’t ignore Barcelona’s fantastic home record either, so we’re backing a Barcelona Win and Over 2.5 Goals along with a 3-1 correct score prediction.

Barcelona are perhaps the strongest side left in the competition, and with Gerard Pique in irresistible form, it is hard to see how Manchester United can find a way to score past Marc-Andre ter Stegen. But, their desperation to script another stirring comeback tale has the potential to do the trick.

Having said that, the need for a goal might just leave spaces open at the back, something that a certain Lionel Messi does not need a second invitation to exploit. The key for Manchester United will be the effectiveness in their pressing in midfield.

Expect another close contest between the two sides, albeit one that should see quite a few chances for each side. But, Barcelona should have enough quality to prevail in the end, and The Hard Tackle predicts a 2-1 win for Ernesto Valverde & co.