Barcelona and Manchester United produced a spectacular game last week in the Europa League and nothing less should be expected from the return leg at Old Trafford Thursday night.
Home advantage gives United the edge in the tie with bookmaker 10bet offering odds at 1.64 for the Red Devils to qualify for the next round. The odds are at 2.25 for Barcelona to get through.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: February 22nd, 8:30 A.M. (EST)
United were initially regarded as the underdogs in the match-up, but the team put in a very impressive performance at Camp Nou and even came close to winning the game. A victory would’ve been a huge achievement, considering Barcelona has dropped only one game at home all season.
The return leg now offers United the chance to show off their superb home form. Old Trafford has become a fortress for United again this season and they hold a 17-game unbeaten home streak ahead of Thursday’s encounter. The team has failed to win only two matches during the run and must currently feel like they can beat anyone who comes on their way.
Barcelona shouldn’t be lacking in confidence either. They have built an eight-point lead over Real Madrid in La Liga and haven’t lost a single game since Bayern Munich walked away with a 3-0 victory from Camp Nou on Oct. 26. Last week’s clash with United is the only game Barcelona failed to win in their last 10 outings across all competitions.
The team has continued to streak even while Robert Lewandowski has had some scoring struggles. Before netting the second goal in Sunday’s 2-0 victory over Cadiz, Lewandowski hadn’t found the back of the net at Camp Nou since Oct. 23. He entered the contest with a three-game scoring drought, which was his longest in club football since September 2020.
However, it’s been a hugely successful debut campaign overall for Lewandowski in Spain as he sits on 24 goals through 29 games. He’s scored countless big goals in his career on the European stage and will be eager to produce a special performance again Thursday.
Meanwhile, United will look for another prolific outing from Marcus Rashford. He has just become only the third player ever to score in at least seven consecutive home Premier League outings for United and Sunday’s brace against Leicester City put Rashford on a career-high 24 goals for the season.
