Barcelona will continue their preparations for the 2022-23 campaign with a pre-season friendly against MLS outfit Inter Miami on Tuesday night.
The Catalan outfit played out a 1-1 draw with Olot in their pre-season opener on July 13, while Inter Miami recorded a 3-2 victory over Charlotte FC in the MLS on Saturday night.
Match preview
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Inter Miami will enter this match off the back of a brilliant comeback-victory over Charlotte on Saturday evening, with Phil Neville's side coming from two goals behind to win 3-2 - Emerson Rodriguez netting the game's decisive fifth goal in the 93rd minute of the contest.
The result moved the Herons into ninth position in the Eastern Conference, boasting 25 points from their opening 20 matches of the campaign.
Inter Miami will be back in MLS action against New York City on July 23 but will first take on a European giant in a glamour friendly, with Barcelona making the trip to the DRV PNK Stadium.
Neville's side have the likes of DeAndre Yedlin, Kieran Gibbs and Gonzalo Higuain in their squad, with the latter coming off the bench to find the back of the net against Charlotte last time out.
The Miami outfit, who were only founded in 2018, are part-owned by David Beckham, and the club continue to be linked with the world's biggest players, including the likes of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
"My team and myself think it's the biggest match in the club's history," Neville told reporters ahead of the contest. "First time this stadium has ever been sold out for an Inter Miami game."
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Barcelona, meanwhile, opened their preparations for the new campaign with a 1-1 draw against Olot on July 13, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on the scoresheet for the Catalan giants.
Xavi's side have now made the trip to the United States, where they will take on Inter Miami, Real Madrid, Juventus and New York Red Bulls as part of their pre-season tour.
Barcelona will then face Pumas in the Joan Gamper Trophy on August 7 before opening their 2022-23 La Liga campaign at home to Rayo Vallecano on August 13.
Despite their financial problems, the Catalan side have made some huge moves in the transfer market this summer, bringing in Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski from Leeds United and Bayern Munich respectively, while Franck Kessie and Andreas Christensen have arrived on free transfers.
The club are under pressure to make a big sale this summer in order to balance the books, with Frenkie de Jong still bring strongly linked with a switch to Manchester United, but it is believed that the Netherlands international is still refusing to leave Camp Nou.
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Team News
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Inter Miami will again definitely be without the services of Robbie Robinson and Ian Fray through injury, while Ariel Lassiter and Brek Shea are doubts for the home side.
Damion Lowe was also substituted at the interval of the clash with Charlotte FC last time out, which could see former Arsenal defender Gibbs feature at the back.
Higuain will be hoping to have the chance to feature against Barcelona, but the experienced striker is expected to start on the bench, with Leonardo Campana set to lead the line once again.
As for Barcelona, Lewandowski is with his new teammates in Miami, so there is a chance that the experienced striker could make his debut for the Catalan side in this match.
Christensen and Raphinha could also make their debuts, while Kessie, who played 45 minutes against Olot last time out, will be hoping to feature for the second time for his new club.
Highly-rated teenager Pablo Torre has also made the move to Barcelona this summer, and the Spaniard will be eyeing another appearance on Tuesday night.
Xavi is expected to select a strong side for the first whistle, with Gavi, Pedri and Ferran Torres potentially included, while Ousmane Dembele could also feature, having rejoined the club last week.
A decision will also have to be made on De Jong's involvement amid the recent speculation.
Inter Miami possible starting lineup:
Callender; Yedlin, Gibbs, Sailor, Mcvey; Gregore, Mota; Taylor, Pozuelo, Vassilev; Campana
Barcelona possible starting lineup:
Ter Stegen; Dest, Araujo, E Garcia, Alba; Gavi, Busquets, Pedri; F Torres, Aubameyang, Dembele
We say: Inter Miami 1-2 Barcelona
Inter Miami will certainly be competitive opposition for Barcelona considering that they are deep into their league season. Barcelona will have the superior quality all over the pitch, though, so we are expecting the Catalan side to emerge victorious on Tuesday night.
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Barcelona win with a probability of 53.14%. A win for Inter Miami had a probability of 23.92% and a draw had a probability of 22.9%.
The most likely scoreline for a Barcelona win was 1-2 with a probability of 9.78%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-1 (9.31%) and 0-2 (8.5%). The likeliest Inter Miami win was 2-1 (6.17%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (10.71%). The actual scoreline of 0-6 was predicted with a 0.3% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted that Barcelona would win this match.
