Man Utd and Barcelona will lock horns in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie on April 10 and it promises to be a thriller. The Red Devils produced a stirring display to beat PSG 3-1 in Paris earlier this month to surge into the quarters. Yet they now face the most daunting task imaginable as Barcelona are in fine form, with Lionel Messi wreaking havoc on a regular basis up front. Yet Barca has fallen at this stage of the competition for the last three years and Man Utd might fancy their chances of securing another magnificent upset.
The odds are certainly against them: a look at the lines at the highly rated sportsbetting.ag shows you that they are clear underdogs to qualify. Among the top sites, you will find Barcelona at just 2/7 to make it through to the semi-finals, while Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men are out at 3/1. Yet if Man Utd can win the first leg at Old Trafford, they might just be able to hold on at the Nou Camp in the return leg.
The Premiership is on fire in this competition, with all four teams making it through to the quarter-finals. Two have been drawn against one another, as Man City take on Tottenham, while Liverpool are heavy favourites to surge past Porto after demolishing Bayern Munich in the last 16. The Reds would then take on the winner of this tie, and everyone is expecting to see Liverpool v Barcelona. However, Man Utd will have other ideas after that brilliant performance in Paris.
They enjoyed a remarkable renaissance after Solskjaer replaced Jose Mourinho in the dugout. He went unbeaten in his first 15 domestic games, with 13 wins and two draws, and got the better of PSG in the Champions League. He now looks all but certain to be handed the job on a permanent basis. However, that air of invincibility has been ripped apart in the past week after his team lost 2-0 to Arsenal at The Emirates and then 2-1 to Wolves in the FA Cup quarter-finals. The Norwegian’s overall record at the club now stands at 14 wins, two draws and three defeats, which is still impressive, but unlikely to drive fear into the hearts of the Barcelona players.
Barcelona are in superb form right now, having won seven matches in a row. That includes victories over Real Madrid in the Copa Del Rey and La Liga, where they now have a 10-point lead over second-placed Atletico Madrid. They destroyed Lyon 5-1 to breeze into the quarter-finals, and Messi was unplayable throughout. He scored twice and laid on two fantastic assists for his teammates to seal the win, and generally dazzled with his brilliance on the ball throughout.
When the quarter-final draw was made, the odds on Barcelona winning the Champions League shortened significantly, while Man Utd became one of the outsiders for glory. Perhaps the odds compilers weighed up the prospect of Messi locking horns with Chris Smalling and decided there was only one winner. Barcelona has dominated Man Utd in this competition over the years, and this is by no means a vintage Red Devils side. The defence will certainly struggle to contain Messi, Luis Suarez, Philippe Coutinho, and Ousmane Dembele.
However, Man Utd could yet seize the initiative in midfield. That is a considerable weak point of this Barcelona team and one that Solskjaer will surely identify. They badly miss Andres Iniesta, while Xavi dictating play is now a distant memory. Ivan Rakitic has a great engine, but there is a lack of creativity in the centre of the park. If Paul Pogba can win that battle alongside energetic players like Fred and Ander Herrera, it could provide the springboard for an unlikely Man Utd triumph. They are blessed with rapid forwards that can spring devastating counter-attacks, and this is by no means a slam dunk for Barcelona, so it should prove to be a thoroughly gripping contest.