Barcelona and Manchester United will resume their battle at Old Trafford today night to decide who advances from their Europa League knockout phase playoff encounter after the first leg lived up to the pre-match anticipation. The two European powerhouses, who met in the Champions League final just 12 years ago, drew 2-2 last week at Camp Nou, and a thrilling matchup is anticipated at the Theatre of Dreams. Even though Marcos Alonso scored the game's first goal in the first leg with a back post header, Manchester United never lost momentum because to the hot-shot Marcus Rashford, whose close-range finish came before Jules Kounde's own-goal-turned-cross. However, the reinvigorated Blaugrana ensured that everything would be left to play for at Old Trafford when Raphinha's ball into the box evaded everyone before nestling into the bottom corner, and interest would have been piqued when Erik ten Hag used the term "rubbish" to describe his side's first-half performance against Leicester City on Sunday. Ten Hag's team has won 14 of their past 15 home games, turning Old Trafford back into a fortress. But, Real Sociedad and Atletico Madrid also triumphed at the Theatre of Dreams in 2022; Barcelona would do well to take a page from their Spanish rivals' book. For a cash-strapped Barcelona, being dropped to the second division of European football for the second year in a row was nothing short of terrible. They are currently 90 minutes away from another early exit from continental play, albeit this one might not have such severe repercussions.

As former midfield maestro Xavi now works his magic in the dugout, Barcelona have built up an eight-point lead over Real Madrid at the top of the La Liga table and comfortably returned to winning ways over Cadiz at the weekend - Sergi Roberto and Robert Lewandowski netting in a 2-0 victory. Also boasting their own stellar unbeaten streak of 18 matches - 16 of which have ended in victory - the Catalan powerhouses travel to Old Trafford having won each of their last 11 away games in all competitions, although Bayern Munich and Inter Milan have both put Xavi's men to the sword at the Allianz Arena and San Siro this season. Barcelona nevertheless have a penchant for avoiding defeat against Man United, who are now winless in five games against the Blaugrana since the 2007-08 Champions League semi-finals, but dreams of a highly sought-after piece of European silverware must now end for one giant rising from the ashes.

(Image by: The Sun)