Manchester United have another impossible mission to accomplish, they travel to face Barcelona on Tuesday in the second leg of their UEFA Champions League quarter-final tie with a deficit from the first leg. The Blaugrana snatched a 1-0 victory at Old Trafford last week thanks to a first-half own-goal from Luke Shaw, so Manchester United need to win by two goals at Camp Nou to reach the semi-finals. Before last week's match, these two teams had last met in the final of this competition in 2011, and Barcelona won that match 3-1. Overall, Barcelona have won 5 of their 12 European matches against Manchester United,while the Red Devils have won three times.
Barcelona have been afraid of the second leg against Manchester United, at least that's what we can understand from last weekend's goalless draw at Huesca in LaLiga. In that match head coach Ernesto Valverde rested almost all his star players and kept Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi out of the squad with minor injuries. That result allowed Atletico Madrid to narrow the gap at the top of the table to nine points with six matches left in the season. Barcelona have not conceded in the last three matches in all competitions. Ousmane Dembele returned to action after recovering from a thigh injury and he could be involved in Tuesday's game.
Manchester United were desperate to bounce back from the first-leg defeat, it was their second consecutive loss in all competitions, and last weekend they managed to pull off a 2-1 home victory over West Ham United. Paul Pogba scored both goals for the Red Devils from the penalty spot, earning them the three points that keep them in the race for a top-four finish. In the previous round Man United also started with a defeat in the first leg, they lost 2-0 at home against Paris Saint-Germain, but somehow turned things around and won the second leg 3-1. Luke Shaw is suspended for this match, but Nemanja Matic, Alexis Sanchez and Ander Herrera should all be available after having recovered from their injuries.
Probable line-ups:
Barcelona: Ter Stegen - Semedo, Pique, Lenglet, Alba - Busquets, Arthur, Rakitic - Messi, Suarez, Dembele
Man United: De Gea - Dalot, Smalling, Lindelof, Young - Matic, Pogba, Fred - Martial, Lukaku, Rashford
My prediction: Barcelona to win 2-0, Manchester United won't be capable of pulling off another miracle, the Blaugrana won't be surprised.
Here are the odds for the match at Bet365:
Barcelona win - 1.36
Draw - 5.50
Man United win - 9.00
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