Arsenal vs Barcelona pre-season friendly preview: Prediction, team news & lineups

Arsenal’s tour of the States concludes on Wednesday night as the Gunners take on La Liga champions Barcelona in Los Angeles.

It’s been a mixed pre-season for Mikel Arteta and his squad, with Arsenal winning just one of their three encounters so far this summer. However, this isn’t the time for results, although the manner of their defeat against Premier League rivals Man Utd on Saturday concerned some.

Thus, while this tour won’t define Arsenal’s 2023/24 season which kicks off in less than a month, the Gunners will be determined to finish their tour on a high against the Catalans.

Wednesday’s fixture was thrust into doubt due to an outbreak of viral gastroenteritis in the Barcelona squad ahead of their friendly with Juventus which was postponed hours before kick-off on Sunday. Nevertheless, there’s now confidence that the contest will go ahead.

Arsenal vs Barcelona pre-season friendly preview: Prediction, team news & lineups

Here’s our preview of Wednesday’s friendly.

How to watch Arsenal vs Barcelona on TV

When is kick-off? Wednesday 27 July

What time is kick-off? 03:30 (BST) / 22:30 (ET) / 19:30 (PT)

Where is it played? SoFi Stadium

TV channel/live stream? arsenal.com (UK), ESPN App (US), DAZN (Canada)

Referee? TBC

Arsenal team news

Arteta is still without Oleksandr Zinchenko and Reiss Nelson will likely miss Wednesday’s game, too. Thus, either Jakub Kiwior or Kieran Tierney will start at left-back with Takehiro Tomiyasu only just returning to the fold.

Declan Rice and Kai Havertz could return to the bench after their difficult outings against United, with Thomas Partey and Leandro Trossard potentially earning starts.

Gabriel Jesus will surely return to the XI with Eddie Nketiah continuing to struggle this summer.

Barcelona team news

Who knows who’ll be ready to go for Barcelona on Wednesday? It’s not clear who’s been affected by the virus, so predicting who’ll start against the Gunners is a guessing game.

However, Xavi will certainly be without Alejandro Balde, while Jules Kounde was a doubt for the Juventus friendly so is unlikely to play on Wednesday.

Arsenal vs Barcelona predicted lineups

Arsenal: Ramsdale; Timber, Saliba, Kiwior, Tierney; Partey, Trossard, Odegaard; Saka, Jesus, Martinelli.

Barcelona: Ter Stegen; R. Araujo, Martinez, Christensen, Alonso; Gundogan, Romeu, Pedri; Raphinha, Lewandowski, Gavi

Arsenal’s recent form

Man Utd 2-0 Arsenal (22/07) – Friendly

MLS All-Stars 0-5 Arsenal (20/07) – Friendly

FC Nurnberg 1-1 Arsenal (13/07) – Friendly

Barcelona’s recent form

Barcelona P-P Juventus (23/07) – Friendly

Vissel Kobe 0-6 Barcelona (06/06) – Friendly

Prediction

The Gunners will be looking to put their sub-par showing against United behind them and conclude their US tour on a high. While Barcelona boast a deep squad laden with young talent, it remains to be seen who’ll be available on Wednesday.

Their hampered preparations and lack of game time so far this summer would suggest Arteta’s side have the upper hand, but Arsenal’s mixed showing in the States means it’s unlikely they’ll have it all their own way in LA.

Prediction: Arsenal 2-2 Barcelona