Gothenburg: Following the African and Asian legs of their summer tour, Manchester United`s squad is significantly stronger with numerous players returning to the squad after international duty this summer.
Youngsters such as Davide Petrucci, Ryan Tunnicliffe and a number of others have returned home as Nani, Wayne Rooney and Danny Welbeck are back following their involvement in Euro 2012, but the biggest boost to Sir Alex Ferguson is the fitness of his captain Nemanja Vidic after missing eight months of action.
Patrice Evra missed out on the draw with Valerenga on Sunday with his wife expecting a baby, but the club confirmed he would be back with the squad for the clash with Barcelona.
Barcelona have only played two previous pre-season matches with both starting line-ups made up of a mixture of youngsters and first-team players, while it is likely that Tito Vilanova will start his strongest side in Gothenburg on Wednesday.
Last time out Barcelona drew 2-2 with Paris Saint-Germain before overcoming Carlo Ancelotti’s men 4-1 on penalties, with Lionel Messi, Dani Alves, Carles Puyol and Alexis Sanchez all appearing from the start alongside Sergi Roberto, Carles Planas and Rafinha, the younger brother of Thiago Alcantara.
Gerard Pique, Andres Iniesta, Cesc Fabregas and Xavi are also all available and are in contention to start as the two sides look to set down a marker to the other.
Barcelona: Victor Valdes (gk), Danny Alves, Gerard Pique, Caros Puyol, Carles Planas, Xavi, Sergio Busquets, Cesc Fabregas; Alexis Sanchez, Lionel Messi, Ibrahim Afellay.
Manchester United: David De Gea (gk), Antonio Valencia, Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, Patrice Evra; Nani, Paul Scholes, Michael Carrick, Ashley Young; Danny Welbeck, Wayne Rooney.
Goal.com
First Published: Wednesday, August 08, 2012, 13:48