All About General Information PTV Sports Biss Key
Barcelona and Tottenham Hotspur cap off their preparations for the 2023-24 campaign on Tuesday, as Xavi’s men welcome their English counterparts to the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys for the next edition of the Joan Gamper Trophy. The Spanish champions ended their USA tour with a 1-0 triumph over Italian giants AC Milan last week, while Spurs thumped Shakhtar Donetsk 5-1 at the weekend. Conceding five goals to Arsenal was hardly the ideal way for Barcelona to kick off their warm-up period for the new term, but once the cobwebs had been blown off, Xavi’s side demonstrated their title-winning credentials in what remained of the Soccer Champions tour.
Following their 5-3 defeat to the Gunners, Xavi’s men thumped long-time adversaries Real Madrid 3-0 in a typically fiery Clasico, before getting the better of AC Milan in Nevada courtesy of a solitary Ansu Fati strike last Tuesday, although goalkeeper Inaki Pena had to be called upon to keep the Rossoneri at bay. While Barcelona have now touched back down on Catalonian soil, Xavi’s men will be playing in somewhat unfamiliar surroundings for the 2023-24 campaign, as the 54,000-capacity Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys – which hosted the 1992 Summer Olympics – will be their headquarters while renovations take place at Camp Nou.
A change in scenery should pale into insignificance for Barcelona, though, as La Blaugrana are aiming to get their hands on the friendly Joan Gamper Trophy for the 46th time, having posted a 6-0 romping over Mexican side UNAM in the 2022 edition. The tournament hosts have now won each of the last 10 Joan Gamper Trophy matches since a 1-0 loss to Sampdoria in 2012, while Tottenham will be making just their second appearance in the friendly competition, having managed a 2-1 win over Milan in 1986 during the days of the four-team tournament. For the past couple of weeks, barely a day has gone by without another update on the future of Tottenham talisman Harry Kane, but the England skipper remains totally unfazed by the ever-growing speculation and demonstrated as such when Shakhtar came to town.
Franck Kessie and Ousmane Dembele were also not given any minutes last time out, but the pair are now closing in on transfers away from the club, and Xavi ought to field his strongest possible XI with only one tune-up game left on the calendar. As if a 48-hour turnaround was not already taxing enough for Tottenham, Postecoglou is also without several long-term injury victims in Ryan Sessegnon (hamstring), Rodrigo Bentancur (ACL), Bryan Gil (groin), while Richarlison also missed out against Shakhtar due to a knock. However, the Brazilian is reportedly expected to be fit for the trip to Catalonia, although Fraser Forster is doubtful due to a back concern, while Tanguy Ndombele also missed the 5-1 win on Sunday due to unexplained reasons, which may very well have been tactical from Postecoglou.
The Australian named a strong lineup for the visit of Shakhtar but will no doubt ring some changes on Tuesday given the lack of recuperation time, potentially offering Sergio Reguilon, Manor Solomon, Giovani Lo Celso, Yves Bissouma and Eric Dier routes back into the first XI. Micky van de Ven was spotted at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday ahead of his £43m move from Wolfsburg, but it is difficult to see the Dutchman being considered for his debut here, even if he is unveiled within the next 48 hours.
