February 15, (THEWILL) – Barcelona and Manchester United are set to face off in a highly anticipated Europa League play-off match, with Barca Coach, Xavi, eager to show the team’s ability to compete against an elite European side.
The first leg of the blockbuster match will take place on Thursday at Camp Nou, with the return fixture to come at Old Trafford a week later. Barcelona has been on an impressive unbeaten run of 16 games, winning 11 consecutive victories since their defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League in October.
Meanwhile, the Red Devils have also shown their resurgent form under coach Erik ten Hag, losing only one of their past 15 matches and sitting third in the Premier League table. Also, despite Barca’s recent successes, Xavi does not believe they are the favourites to advance, acknowledging the strength of the other teams in the competition. But, he expects two very close matches and acknowledges the challenge that United will pose.
Xavi is relishing the opportunity to demonstrate the strides his team has made and their ability to compete at the highest level in Europe. He said: “I expect a game with a lot of intensity and rhythm. It’s Europe and we want to show that we can compete against a top-level European rival.
“United is a great club. They are not in the best moment in their history, but there are players, who are in a great moment. In recent weeks they have been good and it will be very hard to win the game. We want to show that we are at a high level and that we all work hard and are aggressive. Tomorrow is an important test to compete in Europe.”
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
