Barcelona vs Juventus
The pre-season tours are well on their way now and two of Europe’s biggest clubs are set to meet in the USA when Barcelona and Juventus meet in a Club Friendly on Saturday 22nd July.
There is still plenty of transfer business to be completed while Xavi and Max Allegri start to mould their teams, and the tour of America is a great chance for the players to reach peak fitness.
They met last year in a pre-season friendly and played out an entertaining draw, and fans in San Francisco will be hoping for more of the same on Saturday, especially when they take a look at the Club Friendly 2023 odds.
Talking Points
Barca’s new men are on tour
The Blaugrana’s summer recruitment programme has gone well so far, and three new stars will be on the Catalan’s trip to USA.
Midfielders Ilkay Gundogan and Oriol Romeu will be joined by experienced centre-back Inigo Martinez as Barca prepare to face Juventus, Arsenal, Real Madrid, and AC Milan before they return to Spain.
Those are four mouth-watering clashes, an El Clasico included, and Barcelona fans will be particularly excited to see English treble winner Gundogan in their ranks. The former Manchester City star was one of the key players as Pep Guardiola led the Sky Blues to Premier League, FA Cup, and Champions League wins, and City fans are sorry to see him go.
Romeu has just been signed from Catalonia neighbours Girona and the ex-Southampton player will add some steel to a skillful Barca lineup, while Martinez is one of the most consistently impressive defenders in Spain.
The pre-season betting odds here at SBOTOP give Barcelona a fine chance of retaining their title, so impressively won last year, and the addition of this trio makes them a stronger outfit.
There will be some outgoings from the Camp Nou to help the club balance its books, with Clement Lenglet, Ferran Torres, and Franck Kessie all likely to leave.
Is Kessie on his way to Turin?
There may be a two-way switch between Barca and Juventus, as the clubs are due to sit down and discuss a potential move for midfielder Kessie from the Camp Nou to Juve.
The Ivorian is one of the Blaugrana’s top earners, and he featured rarely in the title winning campaign, so he is an obvious candidate for the exit door, particularly since the arrival of Gundogan and Romeu Oreu in Barcelona.
The 26-year-old could be the ideal man to bolster the Old Lady’s midfield, but the player is reported to favour a move to the Premier League.
Juventus are keen to bring Kessie back to Serie A, and recent reports in the Italian sports press suggest the club might be willing to trade winger Federico Chiesa as part of the deal.
The Old Lady has been suggesting a loan-to-buy deal for Kessie while Barca want a cash sale, and so Juventus negotiators are getting creative.
Chiesa is valued at around €40 million, and he has the same agent as Barca’s Marcos Alonso, so there are plenty of interested parties in this idea.
As I Bianconeri seek to strengthen, they are in discussions with Spezia to bring full-back Emil Holm to the club. But in other Club Friendly 2023 news,it seems that Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku might even be heading back to Inter Milan rather than Juventus
The Belgian ace has been left out of the Blues’ pre-season tour of the USA, clearly not a part of Mauricio Pochettino’s plans, and he has taken it upon himself to speak with I Nerazzurri as Juventus have been slow to make things happen.
A move for Lukaku to Juventus is contingent on the sale of Dusan Vlahovic, who is a target for PSG. Of course, Inter aren’t necessarily desperate to bring Lukaku back to Milan, so the striker’s future looks uncertain.
Juventus fans may well have to temper their expectations for the coming campaign. Even though they are not in European action, they are still a way off being strong enough to lead the race for the 2024 Scudetto, and Allegri has work to do in the transfer market.
History
Barcelona and Juventus have met 11 times before with Barca winning five of the encounters, while I Bianconeri have won just two matches, and there have been four draws.
The highest aggregate score came when they met last season in a July friendly when the two teams played out a 2-2 draw.
Ousmane Dembele scored twice for Barca and Moise Kean responded with a double for Juve. Kean may miss out in this tour having picked up an injury this week, but Dembele is sure to feature again.
Fans in California are in for a treat when they see two of the most famous clubs in world football come head-to-head. I think Barca are further down the road than Juventus, and I can see the Catalans picking up a sixth win against the Old Lady.
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