Barcelona vs Tottenham Hotspur 29/07/18

29 July 2018

After winning their 25th La Liga title, Barcelona didn’t participate in a single preparation game this summer, as they set to kick off their warm-up campaign against Tottenham Hotspur at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, California. The Blaugrana have every intention to win the Champions League title next season which is why they have already spent $105 million on Bordeaux winger Malcom and Sevilla defender Clément Lenglet, with only the latter traveled with the squad to the United States. The Spurs also started their preparation period a bit late, as they only played one friendly match after the completion of the World Cup facing AS Roma in San Diego recording a stunning 4-1 win without their best player Harry Kane, who got an extended break after featuring in the World Cup with England. A match in Los Angeles will only be the third meeting between these two sides in history, with their last encounter dates back to 1982 when the Catalan giants managed to eliminate the London team from the UEFA European Cup Winners Cup 2-1 on aggregate.

Due to their commitments with the national teams in Russia, many of Barcelona’s first-team players won’t be able to contribute the Spanish side at the International Champions Cup, with the names of Coutinho, Luis Suarez, Pique, and club’s greatest star Lionel Messi remained out of the squad for the trip to the USA. On the other hand, Eric Dier, Trippier, Kane, Toby Alderweireld, Verthongen, Dembele and Hugo Lloris are the most notable absences in the English team.