Form guide: Manchester United vs Barcelona (Europa League)

Having taken a 2-2 draw back home from the Nou Camp, Manchester United will be feeling confident of a statement win as they host Barcelona in the second leg of their Europa League tie.

Manchester United have been knocked out of European competition by a Spanish opponent in each of the last five seasons, one of those occasions was at the hands of Barcelona in 2019, and the club’s record against Spanish sides in Europe has been poor in recent years.

But recent poor records mean nothing to Erik ten Hag, who since coming in has taken United to their best level since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013, and with the home crowd on their side, the squad will be hopeful of picking up a win that would be talked about for years to come as a turning point in the club’s history.

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Here, UtdDistrict preview the two sides’ form going into the tie.

Manchester United

Last five games: W, D, W, D, W

United have had a couple of slips with draws against Barcelona and Leeds, but have been otherwise very strong and go into this game off the back of a 3-0 home victory against Leicester City where the side even underperformed their expected goals.

Be it a high line or low block, United have shown themselves capable of scoring against any opposition and with the return of Lisandro Martínez at centre-back, they will feel even more confident defensively than usual.

In games of this magnitude, an argument can be made that form goes out of the window to an extent. United have generally faired well against bigger sides this season, especially at home. With that and the form taken into consideration, United will feel confident going into this game.

Barcelona

Last five games: W, D, W, W, W

Barcelona enter this tie with a near-perfect record, with the one game they did not win being the 2-2 thriller against United last week on their home turf.

In their last five games, Barcelona have scored a total of 11 goals and conceded just three – two of those coming against United last week. They are an extremely strong side, and perhaps most importantly now have star man Robert Lewandowski firing again after scoring to end a short drought at the weekend.

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The Poland captain is one of the greatest strikers football has ever seen, and this game will be his first ever at Old Trafford. He will be up for it, and whilst Raphaël Varane is a familiar opponent of his he will undoubtedly cause him and Martínez problems. United will need to watch out for him.