Barcelona vs Manchester United 17/04/19

17 April 2019

After securing a narrow 1-0 win at Old Trafford, Barcelona welcome Manchester United to Camp Nou for the return leg of their Champions League quarter-finals tie.

Going after their first CL semi-finals appearance since the 2014-15 campaign, the hosts come into this meeting off the back of a goalless draw with Huesca that has seen Ernesto Valverde resting almost his entire starting eleven. The Catalans have not only racked up a five-game home winning run across all competitions in the build-up to this meeting, but their only season’s home loss dates back to early November. Ever since losing to Real Betis, the reigning La Liga holders have put together 15 competitive home games without a defeat (W12, D3). What’s more, the Blaugrana are still unbeaten in Spain in this year’s CL edition having conceded just two goals in four CL outings this term.

Meanwhile, the visitors have endured mixed fortunes over the past couple of months, winning five of their previous nine games across all competitions (W5, L4). Three of United’s four defeats in that period have come away from home, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men allowing precisely two goals in each. The Red Devils’ drop-off in form has seen them gone from nine straight road triumphs to three consecutive defeats, with seven of those 12 games featuring over 2.5 goals. Interestingly, the Premier League giants have enjoyed more success on the road in the Champions League this campaign, pulling off three wins on four CL road trips (W3, L1), scoring 2+ match goals in each victory.