Five key stats ahead of Manchester United vs Barcelona

It is just a matter of hours before Barcelona lock horns with Manchester United, with Old Trafford providing the setting for this mammoth encounter in the UEFA Europa League.

The two behemoths of European football find themselves in the secondary competition of the continent and will be aiming to go the distance.

The first leg of the knockout playoff ended in a 2-2 draw at Spotify Camp Nou with Marcus Rashford and Raphinha standing out for Manchester United and Barcelona, respectively.

Now, Xavi will look to guide his team past the Red Devils and into the Round of 16. But, Old Trafford can be a daunting venue for visiting teams, with Manchester United slowly turning it into a fortress under Erik ten Hag.

Indeed, Manchester United are unbeaten in their last 17 matches at Old Trafford across all competitions, winning 15 of those games (D2). However, the last team to beat the Red Devils in their own backyard was from La Liga – Real Sociedad (September 2022).

Barcelona themselves are in fine fettle heading into the match at the Theatre of Dreams.

The Blaugrana are unbeaten in 18 matches in a row in all competitions – their longest such streak since 2019 (23 matches). Interestingly, during the 23-game undefeated run in 2019, Manchester United were Barça’s 19th victim, with the Catalans winning 3-0 at Camp Nou in the Champions League.

Furthermore, the La Liga leaders have an impressive record against teams from England in the past decade.

Since January 2023, Barcelona have faced a Premier League team on 17 occasions and have won 12 of those matches, while losing just two (D3). They have five wins out of a possible eight in away games against English teams during this period.

Barcelona can also draw confidence from the fact that they have had the rub of the green in recent encounters against Manchester United.

Indeed, the La Liga giants have won four of their previous five meetings with the Red Devils, drawing the remaining one. The last time Manchester United beat Barça in an official match was in 2008 in the Champions League semi-finals.

Meanwhile, tonight’s game will be a special occasion for Ronald Araujo, who seems set to start at Old Trafford. Should he feature tonight, the Uruguayan will be making his 100th appearance for Barcelona.