BARCELONA will take on AC Milan in a heavyweight pre-season friendly in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
The match, which will be played in the USA, will see both teams participate in their penultimate pre-season friendly before their domestic seasons get underway later in the month.
Barcelona have enjoyed a great pre-season so far, winning all three of their matches including a 1-0 victory over Real Madrid last time out.
Meanwhile, AC Milan haven't been quite as prolific but they have enjoyed victories over Man City and Real Madrid so Hansi Flick won't be taking them lightly.
How the bookies view it: A close one to call
The bookies aren't totally convinced either way on this one and have priced the match accordingly. Barcelona go in as the slight favourites at 5/4 with Betfred while AC Milan are considered narrow outsiders at 6/4. The draw, which wouldn't necessarily be a bad result for either side, is considered the least likely result at 11/4.
Recent head-to-head: Yet another friendly
Considering both of these teams are European heavyweights, matches between the two have been hard to come by in recent years. They haven't played each other in a competitive fixture since 2013 but they have played in two friendly matches more recently. The result of the last one was a 1-0 win for Barcelona in a match that took place in August 2023.
Players to watch: The return of two Euro 2024 superstars
While Barcelona are still missing several players from the Spanish squad that won Euro 2024, they will welcome back Ilkay Gundogan for the match against AC Milan.
The German playmaker had a good Euros for his nation before being eliminated by Spain so he will perhaps be glad that he won't have to see the likes of Lamine Yamal and Ferran Torres just yet. Gundogan had a good debut season at the Camp Nou last season but will be looking to add to his trophy cabinet this time around.
AC Milan will welcome back Rafael Leao for the match against Barcelona. The Portuguese winger suffered in the shadow of Cristiano Ronaldo at the Euros and will be glad to return to club football, where he so often shines for his club. Last season, he contributed 13 goals and 14 assists in all competitions.
Predicted line-ups
In addition to the Euro 2024 players who are yet to return to training, Barcelona have several key players on the treatment table. These include Ronald Araujo, Pedri, and Frenkie de Jong.
AC Milan also have a couple of fitness concerns. New signing, Strahinja Pavlovic isn't expected to take part in any games for a while while Alessandro Florenzi is on the long road to recovery after undergoing surgery for an ACL injury.
Barcelona: Ter Stegen – Fort, Martinez, Christensen, Balde – Casado, Gundogan – Victor, Torre, Raphinha – Lewandowski
AC Milan: Torriani – Calabria, Tomori, Thiaw, Jimenez – Pobega, Loftus-Cheek, Musah – Chukwueze, Leao, Jovic
Anything else catch the eye?
The two most recent friendly clashes between Barcelona and AC Milan haven't exactly been thrillers, with just two goals going in across both matches. Neither side have been consistently banging them in during pre-season, either. Under 2.5 goals to be scored is priced at 13/8 with Betfred.
This Club Friendly match between Barcelona and AC Milan will be played on Aug 7, 2024 and kick off at 00:30. Check below for our tipsters best Barcelona vs AC Milan prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
