Two European giants yet to suffer a defeat in pre-season put their unbeaten records on the line on Tuesday, when Barcelona and AC Milan clash at the M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.
Hansi Flick's men edged a 'friendly' El Clasico against Real Madrid on Saturday, prevailing 2-1 against Los Blancos, while the Rossoneri coincidentally defeated the European champions 1-0 last month.
Match preview
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Barcelona's summer campaign has certainly been one for the young stars to shine bright, and a 22-year-old striker who only signed his first professional contract a couple of weeks ago stole the El Clasico spotlight in New Jersey on Saturday.
On the back of netting the opening goal in the Blaugrana's 2-2 stalemate against Manchester City, Pau Victor struck either side of the half-time whistle to propel Barcelona into a healthy lead against Real Madrid, which was eventually halved by a Nico Paz header.
However, that 82nd-minute intervention did not spark a miraculous comeback from Real Madrid, as Barcelona maintained their perfect record of sorts in pre-season; their 2-2 draw with Man City preceded a penalty-shootout success over the Premier League champions.
Quickly adapting to the methods of former Bayern Munich boss Flick, Barcelona take part in their penultimate friendly on Tuesday, after which Monaco will be their final pre-season opponents at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys on August 12.
An 11th straight Joan Gamper Trophy will be on the line in that contest for Barcelona, who are still housed at the Olympic Stadium while the Camp Nou renovations continue, although there is hope that they will be back at their regular headquarters by the end of the year.
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Also enjoying life with a new head coach at the helm, Milan can share a joke with Barcelona when it comes to beating Real Madrid this summer, as Paulo Fonseca masterminded a 1-0 success over the reigning European champions in Chicago on July 31.
Samu Chukwueze's solitary strike was the difference between the two outfits that day, as the Rossoneri made it two wins from three friendly matches during a productive pre-season so far; they also edged a five-goal thriller with Manchester City and drew 1-1 with Rapid Vienna in their opener.
With Fonseca in the chair and legendary striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic now acting in the capacity of an advisor, Milan's overriding goal for the 2024-25 season will be narrowing the gap to San Siro rivals Inter Milan, whom they finished a staggering 19 points behind in the 2023-24 Serie A campaign.
The early signs are no doubt positive under ex-Roma and Lille head coach Fonseca, who witnessed a 'courageous' side in their victory over Real Madrid and will also oversee a final friendly against local foes Monza in the Trofeo Luigi Berlusconi on August 13.
Champions League clashes between Barcelona and Milan were previously commonplace before the Rossoneri's downfall, and it has now been almost 11 years since their last competitive meeting, when La Blaugrana won 3-1 in UEFA's premier tournament thanks to a Lionel Messi double.
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Team News
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As well as Spain's Olympic trio of Fermin Lopez, Pau Cubarsi and Eric Garcia - who are all set to feature in Monday's friendly against Morocco - Barcelona's Euro 2024 winners Lamine Yamal and Ferran Torres are still on their well-earned holiday, while semi-finalist Jules Kounde did not play against Real Madrid but is back in training.
The Blaugrana doctors are also being kept busy with a number of injuries - Ronald Araujo (thigh), Pedri (knee), Gavi (ACL), Frenkie de Jong (ankle) and Ansu Fati (heel) are all sidelined, while young striker Vitor Roque is battling back from an ankle issue.
In addition, experienced midfielder Oriol Romeu has left the training camp as he finalises his return to Girona, but Flick could still reinforce his engine room with the re-introduction of Ilkay Gundogan.
Regarding Milan's situation, the Rossoneri welcomed Euros stars Tijjani Reijnders, Mike Maignan and Theo Hernandez back to their training base on Saturday, but the trio will not be involved in the showdown with Barcelona as they practice at home.
New signing Strahinja Pavlovic might not make his debut just yet either due to fitness reasons, while right-back Alessandro Florenzi recently underwent surgery on an ACL injury and faces months of rehabilitation.
Midfield fulcrum Ismael Bennacer is said to be training individually in the USA as well, but it is not all bad news for Fonseca; Portuguese wing king Rafael Leao is being tipped to make his playing return on Tuesday.
Barcelona possible starting lineup:
Ter Stegen; Fort, Christensen, Martinez, Balde; Casado, Gundogan; Victor, Torre, Raphinha; Lewandowski
AC Milan possible starting lineup:
Torriani; Calabria, Tomori, Thiaw, Jimenez; Loftus-Cheek, Pobega, Musah; Chukwueze, Jovic, Leao
We say: Barcelona 2-2 AC Milan
Neither manager should be losing sleep over losing their unbeaten pre-season record on Tuesday, where a goal-laden affair could be on the cards between two clubs brimming with unbridled confidence.
Absences on both ends only means that young players are going gung-ho to force their way into their manager's plans, and a high-scoring draw looks likely.
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Ben Knapton
