FC Barcelona are set to partake in their first game of the pre-season tour of the United States of America where they look to face off against Serie A side Juventus in Santa Clara, California at the Levi’s Stadium.
Match Details:
Date: Sunday, 23rd July 2023
Competition: Soccer Champions Tour 2023
Time: 04:30 pm CET
Venue: Levi’s Stadium
Match Overview:
Coming off a strong La Liga campaign last time around in the 2022/2023 season, emerging as Spanish champions, Barcelona are going to be hungry to continue their winning ways and get the new season off to a winning start as well, be it even in the pre-season itself.
The Catalan club is still a team under development as Xavi Hernandez and co look to replace their departing stars with new blood and players that will understandably end up bringing in newer qualities and attributes to the Blaugrana side.
Expected to line up in his typical 4-3-3 formation, Xavi Hernandez will look to stay true to his own footballing philosophy as he attempts to integrate players such as Oriol Romeu and Ilkay Gundogan within the side and establish a new hierarchy of stars based on their respective merits.
On the other hand, their opposition from Serie A, Juventus, had a disappointing 2022/2023 season, to say the least. Finishing 7th within the Italian league, guaranteeing a place only within the UEFA Europa Conference League, the Italian giants were subject to a massive point deduction penalty following investigations conducted over their various transfer dealings.
The Old Lady’s coach, Massimiliano Allegri, remains convinced that despite their various troubles over at Juventus, the black and whites of Italy possess the quality to hurt even the very best that European football has to offer.
While simply a friendly, FC Barcelona will look at this game as a golden opportunity to take on one of Europe’s finest and test out their own squad against such opposition, a squad that will include star veterans, new arrivals, up-and-coming youngsters as well as returning loanees.
