FC Barcelona welcomes Manchester United on Thursday, February 16, in the first leg play is approaching the round of 16 of the Europa League in full upward momentum, which has made it the extraordinary leader of La Liga.

Xavi Hernández’s team collected eleven consecutive official victories, in which they kept six clean sheets.

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“This is a great match, a spectacular match for the spectators. The two teams are coming at the best moment of form and results”, said Xavi this Wednesday at the press conference before the match.

The triumph consolidates FC Barcelona’s lead in La Liga

Although Barca president Joan Laporta recently reminded that Barca’s main goal is the Spanish championship, the Europa League is emerging as a major European prize, after being relegated from the Champions League.

“We are coming from seasons without achieving (European) success, and even if it is the Europa League, it is important to show that we can compete in Europe,” Barca’s coach said.

Barça could only finish third in their Champions Group, landing in the second continental competition, where their good run of form makes them one of the main favourites.

Channels to watch live FC Barcelona vs. Manchester Utd

ESPN, Movistar+, FOX Sports and TNT Sports

Schedules to watch live FC Barcelona vs. Manchester Utd

09:45 Los Angeles

11:45 Mexico, Washington and Chicago

12:45 Ecuador, Colombia, Peru and New York

13:45 Venezuela and Bolivia

14:45 Chile, Brasilia, Argentina, Uruguay and Asunción

17:45 England and Portugal

18:45 Spain, France, England and Germany

19:45 Russia

Solid in defense and attack

Solid in defence, Barcelona are also proving to be formidable in attack with a fine display from Robert Lewandowski, the author of 23 goals in 27 games so far this season.

The Polish gunner was presented as a great offensive asset of the Catalans in this match, which will remind of the two finals of the Champions League played by these two teams in 2009 and 2011, both of which were won by Barça.

Supported by their stadium, it will not be easy for the Barça team against Manchester United, who, having left behind the soap opera of Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure, are also in full upward dynamics.

“Both clubs had the ambition to be in the Champions League, and not only to be there, but to have a real impact on it. The reality is that we are in the Europa League, which shows that both clubs needed a reset and now we are both on the right track,” United manager Erik Ten Hag said.

United, who finished second in their Europa League group, are third in the English Premier League, five points behind leaders Arsenal and have gone on a six-game unbeaten run, including five wins.

The match will mark the return to Spain of Brazilian Casemiro, after he left Real Madrid and signed for United.

At Camp Nou, the English will try to keep the best version of their striker Marcus Rashford, the author of 13 goals in the last 15 games, and Bruno Fernandes also seems to have returned to his best form for the crucial game.

Sevilla wants to grow

While two spirited teams face off in Barcelona, ​​in Sevilla PSV Eindhoven is visiting Jorge Sampaoli’s erratic team, which alternates between defeats and victories.

The Andalusian team awaits the match at the Sánchez Pizjuán where they have won their last four games, which encourages the Sevilla team, the kings of the Europa League, after six wins.

“People left with great enthusiasm for Thursday’s game,” Sampaoli said on Saturday after beating Mallorca 2-0.

Sevilla also return to ‘their’ competition after being relegated from the Champions League with the intention of lifting the trophy they last won in 2020 with Julen Lopetegui as coach.

The Andalusian side, who are closer to relegation than the European places in La Liga, will look to continue their recovery against PSV, who are fourth in the Dutch championship.

“It will be a difficult match, with many obstacles. However, we worked on ourselves to continue to grow as a team and improve our game,” confirmed defender Gonzalo Montiel.

Of the other games in this ‘play-off’, the French Monaco, third in their championship, welcomes the German Bayer Leverkusen, while Juventus, which is going through difficult moments in its championship, welcomes Nantes. (D)