PREVIEW: FC Barcelona v Manchester City

FC Barcelona and Manchester City go head-to-head at the Spotify Camp Nou on Wednesday night at 9.30pm CEST in a friendly match that is about much more than football.

All proceeds from the game will be donated to research in to Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), a progressive nervous system disease that affects the brain and spinal cord, causing loss of muscle control, and for which there is currently no known cure.

Since former goalkeeper and coach Juan Carlos Unzué was diagnosed with this illness two years ago, he been a fervent campaigner to raise funds for its investigation. In association with FC Barcelona president Joan Laporta and Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola, this game between two of Europe’s biggest football clubs is expected to do wonders for such a fine cause.

The game has been in the planning for some time, but due to the Covid-19 pandemic it was not possible to play it until now.

It is being screened worldwide on Barça TV+. For further details, have a look at our global viewing guide.

After the first two league games against Rayo Vallecano and Real Sociedad, the first a rather disappointing draw and the latter an exceptionally promising 4-2 victory, the game also offers a valuable chance for coach Xavi to test his players against one of Europe's most potent squads.

Both managers have vowed to field strong sides for this one, but we can also expect them to use the occasion to take a look at some of the players that might not have featured so prominently in the opening games of their respective league seasons.

Barça's next competitive game after this one is at 7.30pm CEST on Sunday at home to Real Valladolid.

Team news

Following a warm-up session on the morning of the match, Xavi named a squad of 27 players for the game.

Head to head

This will be the 13th time that Barça and Man City have met and the Catalans have very much had the upper hand over the years, winning eight of those games. City’s only competitive victory was also their most recent meeting with Barça, although it should be noted that Barça had already won their Champions League group by that stage, so it didn’t matter too much. 

Previous meetings
1952 Barça 5-1 Man City (friendly)
1957 Barça 3-2 Man City (friendly)
1974 Barça 3-2 Man City (friendly)
1986 Barça 1-1 Man City (Colombino Trophy in Huelva
2003 Man City 2-1 Barça (friendly)
2009 Barça 0-1 Man City (Gamper)
2014 Man City 0-2 Barça (Champions League)
2014 Barça 2-1 Man City (Champions League
2015 Man City 1-2 Barça (Champions League)
2015 Barça 1-0 Man City (Champions League
2016 Barça 4-0 Man City (Champions League)
2016 Man City 3-1 Barça (Champions League)

Form guide

City are without former captain Fernandinho, who has returned to Brazil, as well as England striker Raheem Sterling, who moved to Chelsea. The highest profile signing this summer was one of the most talked-about young strikers in world football, Erling Haaland, who arrives from Borussia Dortmund, while much is also expected of midfielder Kalvin Phillips, who joins from Leeds. Goalkeeper Stefan Ortega came on a free from Arminia Bielefeld in Germany and Spanish defender Sergio Gómez was signed from Anderlecht.

After missing out on the Community Shield to Liverpool, Man City’s league defence got off to a fine start with back-to-back wins, but at the weekend they dropped their first points in a thriller of a game with Newcastle in which they had to claw back from 3-12 down. After three games, they lie second in the league behind Arsenal.

The season so far
Friendly in Houston: Man City 2-1 America (Mexico)
Friendly in Green Bay: Bayern Munich 0-1 Man City
Community Shield: Liverpool 3-1 Man City
Premier league: West Ham 0-2 Man City
Premier league: Man City 4-0 Bournemouth
Premier league: Newcastle Utd 3-3 Man City

New third strip

This game will be the first in which Barça will be wearing their brand new third strip, which goes on sale on the day of the match. The light grey design is unlike any kit the team has worn before, featuring a blaugrana coloured Cross of Sant Jordi (St George Cross) in recognition of the 30th anniversary of the granting of the highest honour in Catalonia to the club.