rsenal and Barcelona tonight face off in Los Angeles in a heavyweight pre-season clash.
The Spanish giants come into the friendly having been forced to cancel their meeting with Juventus last week due to a sickness bug that swept through their camp, making this their first outing of the summer.
The Gunners are more advanced in their preparations for the new campaign but suffered defeat to Manchester United last time out.
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Nonetheless, new signings Declan Rice, Kai Havertz and Jurrien Timber have had plenty of time to get settled on their tour of the United States, which began with a 5-0 win over MLS All-Stars.
Barcelona will still provide a sturdy test with only one friendly left to go after this meeting before Arsenal kick their season off in the Community Shield.
Date, kick-off time and venue
Arsenal vs Barcelona is scheduled for a 3.30am BST kick-off in the early hours of Thursday, July 27, 2023.
The match will take place at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.
Where to watch Arsenal vs Barcelona
TV channel and live stream: In the UK, the game will be televised live on Arsenal’s official media channel.
Live blog: You can follow all the action on matchday via Standard Sport’s live blog.
Arsenal vs Barcelona team news
Oleksandr Zinchenko and Mohamed Elneny are the only injury doubts for Arsenal, although both are back in training after finishing last season on the sidelines.
Mikel Arteta has favoured strong starting line-ups in each of his friendlies so far and this will be no different, but it will be interesting to see if Eddie Nketiah continues in the attack.
Barcelona’s team news will largely depend on who has gotten over their sickness bug.
Xavi oversaw a largely full squad for a double training session to start the week, bar the injured Inigo Martinez, and there could be outings for new signings Ilkay Gundogan and Oriol Romeu.
Ilkay Gundogan could make his Barcelona debut
/ APArsenal vs Barcelona prediction
The Blaugrana’s virus issues have knocked back their preparations and the Gunners should be able to capitalise against a team with less miles in the tank.
Arsenal to win, 3-1.
Head to head (h2h) history and results
Arsenal have only ever beaten Barcelona in one competitive game, in the 2011 Champions League knockouts.
Arsenal wins: 1
Draws: 2
Barcelona wins: 6
