Birmingham vs. Barcelona: Preview, Predictions and Lineups

Barcelona began their preseason schedule by beating CE Europa 4–1 behind closed doors.

Barcelona travel to St Andrew’s for a friendly. | Visionhaus/Getty Images.

Barcelona have traveled all the way to England for their first preseason friendly in front of supporters this summer, with La Liga’s champions facing Birmingham City at St Andrew’s on Friday.

La Blaugrana kicked off with a convincing 4–1 victory over fellow Catalan outfit CE Europa behind closed doors last week, and Hansi Flick will be seeking back-to-back victories when taking on English second division side Birmingham.

Barcelona are still without a host of first-teamers, meaning a makeshift and youthful squad will compete against Tom Brady’s Blues, but the relentless production of talent at La Masia ensures standards won’t drop too much.

Birmingham have already been in action five times this summer as they prepare for the start of the Championship season. Victories over Huddersfield Town, Solihull Moors, Burton Albion, Crewe Alexandra and Northampton Town have them in high spirits ahead of a special occasion.

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Birmingham vs. Barcelona Score Prediction

Barça Overcome Awkward Opposition

Hansi Flick will want a convincing win. | Ruben De La Rosa/NurPhoto/Getty Images

Barcelona are far from full-strength heading to St Andrew’s as they cope without many of their World Cup stars, but there’s a smattering of first-teamers on hand to guide young heads through a tough match in the Midlands.

A relatively strong defense will feature the likes of Ronald Araújo and Alejandro Balde, which should make life more challenging for Birmingham City’s in-form forwards. At the other end, outstanding options are few and far between, but Flick will still fancy his side to score multiple times.

Preseason can produce unexpected results, but Barça should avoid a surprise here.

• Barcelona mojo: After romping to a routine win over CE Europa in their first friendly, Barça got some invaluable minutes in the legs of their academy starlets and senior squad members. That should serve them well against Birmingham, who have already played five warmup games to date.
• Birmingham form: Flick will urge his side to be wary of their hosts, with Chris Davies and his players having won all of their friendlies so far. Birmingham have scored 11 and conceded just twice this summer, although facing Barcelona is an enormous step up.

Prediction: Birmingham 1–2 Barcelona

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Birmingham Predicted Lineup vs. Barcelona

Plenty of in-game changes will be made. | FotMob

Davies has the chance to give new signing Luis Vázquez quite the unofficial debut, the Argentine striker having just signed from Anderlecht. He featured against Barça last season while on loan at Getafe.

August Priske might lead the line from the off, however, with Jay Stansfield starting just in behind the Denmark youth international.

Former Deportivo Alavés winger Carlos Vicente will want to start, while new signing Dael Fry will hope to get more minutes in the tank.

Birmingham predicted lineup vs. Barcelona (4-2-3-1): Beadle; Osayi-Samuel, Fry, Klarer, Cochrane; Solís, Iwata; Vicente, Stansfield, Gray; Priske.

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Barcelona Predicted Lineup vs. Birmingham

Flick will name an unorthodox XI out of necessity. | FotMob

Flick still has the opportunity to name a team largely comprised of first-team regulars, with the likes of Andreas Christensen, Wojciech Szczęsny, Marc Bernal and Marc Casadó all available for the upcoming clash.

Karim Adeyemi could make his debut for the club after recently signing from Borussia Dortmund, but fellow new recruit Anthony Gordon won’t feature as he recovers from his World Cup exploits.

There were eight World Cup winners in Spain’s squad that represent Barça, including the likes of Lamine Yamal, Pedri and the winning goalscorer in the final, Ferran Torres. All of them are yet to return from extended breaks.

Raphinha has just teamed up with his clubmates in England, however, and could play some part in the Birmingham game.

Barcelona predicted lineup vs. Birmingham (4-3-3): Szczęsny; Fort, Araújo, Martín, Balde; Bernal, Christensen, Casadó; Adeyemi, Abdelkarim, Bardghji.

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What Time Does Birmingham vs. Barcelona Kick Off?

• Location: Birmingham, England
• Stadium: St Andrew’s
• Date: Friday, July 31
• Kick-off Time: 2:45 p.m. ET / 11:45 a.m. PT / 7:45 p.m. BST

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How to Watch Birmingham vs. Barcelona on TV, Live Stream

Country	TV/Live Stream
United States	Blues+, Barça Play, FC Barcelona YouTube Channel
Canada	Blues+, Barça Play, FC Barcelona YouTube Channel
Mexico	Blues+, Barça Play, FC Barcelona YouTube Channel
United Kingdom	Blues+

• MORE: Full list of broadcasters around the world for Birmingham vs. Barcelona

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