Barcelona vs Man United lineups, starting 11s and latest team news for Europa League Round of 16 first leg

Manchester United and Barcelona will do battle over two legs in the coming weeks as they face off in the Europa League Round of 16 playoffs.

Erik ten Hag has changed the narrative at United so far this season, as they look to build for a positive end to 2022/23, but this clash presents a major challenge for the Dutchman.

Alongside the frustration of losing to Barcelona in the 2009 and 2011 Champions League finals, these games will be filled with subplots, as United fans still hold out hope over a summer move for Frenkie de Jong.

Below are the projected starting lineups for both teams based on the latest news leading up to this Europa League match.

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Barcelona vs Man United lineups

Barcelona will be without captain Sergio Busquets through injury with French inernational Ousmane Demebele also sidelined.

Ten Hag is missing five first team players through injury with Anthony Martial, Scott McTominay and Antony not expected to return for another week with Christian Eriksen and Donny van de Beek out until April.

Casemiro is available, despite serving a Premier League ban, but Lisandro Martinez is out, due to a one game Europa League suspension.

Below are the projected starting lineups for both teams ahead of their match at the Camp Nou on February 16.

Barcelona starting 11

(4-3-3-): Ter Stegen (GK) — Kounde, Araujo, Christensen, Alba — Pedri, de Jong, Kessie — Fati, Lewandowski, Gavi

• Injured: Busquets, Dembele
• Suspended: None

Xavi is likely to stick with Franck Kessie as Busquets’ replacement, alongside de Jong and Pedri in midfield, with Gavi playing higher up in attack.

Ansu Fati is pushing for a recall, after returning to full fitness, with the experience of Jordi Alba potentuially preferred of Alejandro Balde at left back.

Man United starting 11

(4-2-3-1): De Gea (GK) — Dalot, Varane, Lindelof, Shaw — Casemiro, Sabitzer — Rashford, Fernandes, Sancho  — Weghorst

• Injured: Eriksen, van de Beek, Martial, Antony, McTominay
• Suspended: Martinez

The majority of Ten Hag’s side picks itself due to injuries, with Victor Lindelof tipped to start over Harry Maguire, as Martinez’s replacement in defence.

Casemiro’s return allows Fred a break, ahead of a likely start against Leicester City this weekend, with Jadon Sancho praised by Ten Hag after the 2-0 Premier League win over Leeds United — and he could make successive starts for the first time since October.

Barcelona vs Man United live stream, TV channel

This tie is the standout fixture of the Europa League Round of 16 playoff schedule with both teams determined to avoid another early European exit.

Xavi has struggled to translate La Liga progress to European action during his time in charge at Barcelona, and this is unknown ground for Ten Hag at United, in his first season at the club.

Australia: Fans can watch every match from the UEFA Champions League, Europa League and Conference League with all the action streaming ad-free, live and on demand on Stan Sport.

Canada: Every Champions League and Europa League match in Canada can be streamed exclusively on DAZN. 

UK: The UEFA Europa League is carried by BT Sport’s TV and streaming platforms.

USA: Fans in the USA can watch the Europa League in English (CBS and Paramount+) and Spanish (Univision, TUDN, UniMas, ViX and ViX+). This match will be shown on TUDN and subscription service Paramount+ and ViX+.

When matches are televised on CBS or Univision TV channels, those same channels are streamed on fuboTV, which is available on a free trial for new users.