Arsenal and Barcelona meet in California on Wednesday with the Gunners looking to regain their preseason momentum after a loss to Manchester United. This is the first meeting of any sort between these two since 2019 when Barca won 2-1 in a friendly at Camp Nou. Xavi's La Liga champions are also looking to get their preseason back on track after a bout of gastroenteritis forced the cancelation of a matchup with Juventus.
Here's our storylines, how you can watch the match and more:
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How to watch and odds
- Date: Wednesday, July 26 | Time: 10:30 p.m. ET
- Location: SoFi Stadium -- Inglewood
- TV: ESPN+
- Odds: Arsenal +110; Draw: +260; Barcelona +175 (via Caesars Sportsbook)
Preseason form
Arsenal: After 1-1 draws with both Watford as well as Nuremburg and then a 5-0 thrashing of a Major League Soccer All-Star XI, Mikel Arteta's side went down to United last weekend. The Gunners debuted Declan Rice, Kai Havertz and Jurrien Timber in the starting XI but Bruno Fernandes and Jadon Sancho secured a 2-0 before adding on an entirely superfluous 5-3 penalty success for the Red Devils. Arteta now goes up against Barca where he started his playing career with the Gunners winless against the Catalan side in any competition since 2011 in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals. After that, Arsenal are back to London for the Emirates Cup against Monaco next week before the Community Shield against Premier League champions Manchester City at Wembley.
Barcelona: A 2-0 win over Vissel Kobe of Japan was supposed to be followed by a clash with Juventus in California before illness struck. The game with the Italian giants was canceled just nine hours before kickoff was due and as many as 15 of Xavi's squad were impacted by the stomach virus. This used to be a UCL regular fixture from which Barca have a good record. After this clash, the Spanish champions face Real Madrid in Texas, Milan in Nevada and then Tottenham Hotspur in the Joan Gamper Trophy.
Team news
Arsenal: Reiss Nelson is out while might be without Oleksandr Zinchenko who has not yet featured this preseason. Leandro Trossard, Thomas Partey and Emile Smith Rowe all returned against United and should feature again here. Gabriel Jesus, Ben White, Kieran Tierney and Fabio Vieira are all vying for starting XI roles.
Possible Arsenal XI: Ramsdale; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Tierney; Odegaard, Rice, Havertz; Saka, Jesus, Martinelli.
Barcelona: There has been no indication as to how many players will have fully recovered from viral gastroenteritis so Xavi might have to field an under-strength side. Jules Kounde, Alejandro Balde, Eric Garcia and summer signing Oriol Romeu have all been impacted so could miss out. Ilkay Gundogan and Inigo Martinez could make their forst appearances -- if fit.
Possible Barcelona XI: Ter Stegen; Roberto, Christensen, Martinez, Alonso; Gundogan, Kessie, Pedri; Raphinha, Lewandowski, Fati.
Prediction
Given that Barca are unlikely to be at full strength, the Gunners have the advantage and that should be reflected on the field. Both teams to score but Arteta's men to trump Xavi's sounds about right. Pick: Arsenal 2, Barcelona 1.