Barcelona vs Manchester United Prediction, Match Preview, Live Stream, Odds and Picks

Barca Rock Solid at the Back

· Feb 15 - 5 minutes read

Two of the great Champions League names, Barcelona and Manchester United, meet in a huge clash at Nou Camp, this time for the Europa League. Our sportsbook offers the best markets and bonuses for the UEL.

Let’s check the latest Europa League news, stats, injury reports, and Europa League lines for Barcelona vs Manchester United. We’ve got plenty of Europa League picks for you to consider.

Barcelona's Spanish defender Jordi Alba celebrates - Josep Lago/AFP

Barcelona: Stunning Form

Barcelona will start as the favorite as it drops into the Europa League from the Champions League for the second successive year. That fact alone should ensure the Blaugrana fans not get too carried away with things. Still, their team has impressed in recent months, and it’s now a much more settled side than back in autumn when it failed to progress from a difficult Champions League group featuring Bayern Munich and Inter Milan.

Since losing at home to the Bundesliga champion, Barcelona has an outstanding record of 15 wins and a draw from 16 competitive games. While the opposition has rarely been of the highest level, its convincing Spanish Super Cup win over Real Madrid should give it the confidence to believe that it is now ready to go all the way and win the Europa League trophy. We will include Barcelona in our soccer picks and parlays mostly because of its brilliant defense, allowing only one goal in the last seven matches.

Barcelona will be without key duo Ousmane Dembele and Sergio Busquets, who are set to miss both legs of their Europa League playoff tie with respective hamstring and ankle injuries. In the absence of Dembele, one of Gavi, Ferran Torres, or Ansu Fati could operate on the left flank, joining top scorer Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha in the front three.

Man United: Focus on Premier League

Manchester United is behind only Arsenal, Barcelona, and Lazio in the ranking of possible Europa League winners. If the Citizens win this knockout round playoff to advance to the round of 16, they could become the second-favorites to lift the trophy at the end of the campaign. Unlike Barcelona, United has won the Europa League before. In his first season at Old Trafford, Jose Mourinho led his side to glory in this competition. That was in 2017, and it is the last trophy United lifted.

United is through to the EFL Cup final and is on course for a top-four finish in the Premier League. Erik ten Hag has done an excellent job since taking charge last summer, and we expect him to prioritize the domestic competitions. Manchester United has won 12 times in 15 matches since returning from the World Cup, but if you’re betting online, you should avoid the Citizens on Thursday.

Donny van de Beek, Christian Eriksen, Anthony Martial, Scott McTominay, and Antony are all set to miss out through injury, while Lisandro Martinez and Marcel Sabitzer are both suspended. Casemiro is available for selection after missing the last two Premier League games due to suspension. United’s key player right now is Marcus Rashford, with the England international enjoying an electric start to 2023.

Barcelona vs Man United Head-to-Head

Barcelona has scored in 16 successive games, seven of which have seen both teams net, but it has not kept a clean sheet in six European outings this season.

Meanwhile, Manchester United has netted at least twice in half a dozen successive fixtures, while six of its last nine have produced three or more goals. United has scored in 15 matches in a row on the road but allowed two or more in four of those games.

Barcelona won the last three mutual encounters, keeping three clean sheets in the process.