Manchester United defied expectations when they defeated Paris Saint-Germain to progress to the quarterfinals of the Champions League. They will now have to repeat their feat against Barcelona as the Old Trafford outfit have been drawn against the Catalan giants to face in the quarterfinals of the Champions League.
Barcelona are the definite favorites to come out victorious in this fixture. However, Manchester United cannot be ruled out of the game as they have been in excellent form in recent matches.
Full-strength Manchester United squad
In both fixtures against PSG, Manchester United suffered due to injury problems. In the first leg, injuries happened during the game and for the second fixture, a few missed out as they picked up a few days before the game.
Although he depleted United squad was enough to knock PSG out of the Champions League, they would prefer having a full squad to pick from against a tougher opponent in Barcelona. With still a few days to go for the matches, Manchester United will be boosted by the return of their injured stars and Paul Pogba’s availability for the quarterfinals will also be a big boost.
The return leg at Camp Nou
Similar to the round of 16, Manchester United will have an away fixture in the return leg. This had helped them to defeat PSG based on away goals and similarly, Barcelona could also be put under pressure in their home game.
Manchester United will have a clear idea as to how many goals to score in the return leg to progress and this could help them in devising their game plan. We have seen Barcelona falter at this stage in the previous seasons and United will hope for something similar to happen next month.
The unpredictability of Solskjaer’s tactics
It was an Ole masterclass which helped the depleted Manchester United squad to defeat PSG in the 2nd leg of the Champions League round of 16. Solskjaer was instrumental in deciding his matchday squad and formation which made PSG struggle on the field. Be it the early substitution to bring Dalot in for Bailly or asking his defenders to play high, Solskjaer proved his credentials as a top manager against PSG.
With still a few days to go for the fixture, Manchester United could devise a gameplan which could help them beat Barcelona. The main man to do it would Solskjaer and Barcelona must be wary of the Norwegian.
[Sportskeeda]
