Champions League: 3 Barcelona weak links Manchester United can take advantage of
All eyes across the world will be glued to the television screens when two of the biggest footballing sides in Europe clash in a standout fixture of the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals. Manchester United and Barcelona have given us some exhilarating games in the past and something similar will be expected when the two teams face each other once again after 8 years. The Red Devils will seek revenge for the Champions League final humiliation at the hands of the Blaugrana back in 2011.
Manchester United will be buzzing with confidence after their historic comeback against Paris Saint-Germain in the Round of 16. After the 2-0 humbling at home against PSG, the chances of United getting into the quarter-finals looked slim. The Red Devils were without 10 key first-team players for the match due to injury, but that didn't dampen the spirit of the players and the manager going into the second leg. A brace from Romelu Lukaku and a brilliant last-minute penalty from Marcus Rashford sent Manchester United through to the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
Barcelona will be the favourites going into the game, especially with their talisman Lionel Messi in unstoppable form this season. The Little Magician has scored 43 goals and contributed 15 assists so far this season. He single-handedly carried Barcelona into the quarter-finals, scoring 2 and assisting another 2 in the 5-1 demolition of Lyon in the second leg of the Champions League Round of 16. Manchester United will be wary of the threat he possesses and will be readying a plan in order to stop him.
Although Barcelona have been sensational this season, there are some weak links Manchester United can exploit in order to get past them in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. Here, we take a look at the 3 weak links Ole Gunnar Solksjaer's men can take advantage of:
#1 Luiz Suarez's terrible away form in the Champions League
The Uruguayan has been Barcelona's most influential player alongside Lionel Messi this season, scoring 23 goals and contributing 9 assists across all competitions. But the 32-year-old will be worried about his Champions League goal-scoring form.
The centre-forward is yet to score a goal in this season's Champions League campaign. But what's more worrying is his away goal-scoring record in the competition. Suarez has failed to score in his last 16 Champions League away games, which adds up to 24 hours of football.
Manchester United will be cherishing his away goal-scoring record in the tournament and will be looking to make it 17 away UCL game without a goal for Luis Suarez in order to get something out of the game at the end of 90 minutes.