The European season began a few weeks ago, but giants FC Barcelona and Manchester City break from their competitive endeavors when they face off in a charity match at the Camp Nou that benefits a cause close to home for both organizations.
The teams are getting together at the Camp Nou to support Juan Carlos Unzue, a former teammate and assistant coach of Pep Guardiola’s, in a match dubbed “A Great Game for a Greater Cause”. Each manager has named a strong squad for the event, with the teams expected to feature top players in support of ALS research.
While the match is scheduled in the midst of the league season, it’s still early enough in the campaign that it shouldn’t cause too much trouble for either, as Champions League group stage games are not scheduled for a couple of weeks.
Both clubs are expected to challenge for their respective domestic league titles this season, with Man City already near the top of the Premier League table. Barcelona are also unbeaten through their first two La Liga matches.
The Sporting News will be following the match live and providing score updates, commentary and highlights as they happen.
Barcelona vs. Man City live score
| 1H | 2H | Final | |
| Barcelona | – | – | – |
| Man City | – | – | – |
Goals:
None
Barcelona vs. Man City live updates, highlights, commentary
Pre-Match: Barcelona vs. Man City (kickoff at 9:30pm local CET)
86 mins to kick: Man City boss Pep Guardiola hinted that he could use this friendly to test new tactics, but more importantly, new players in the squad. “The benefits? We will be together for the new players, time to train, and recover in a different environment,” Guardiola said.
That could mean time for new signing Sergio Gomez who was just signed last week from Anderlecht. The 21-year-old left-back could use the time to get up to speed as the Man City squad deals with a few defensive injuries.
110 mins to kick: While the match itself will benefit ALS research, Barcelona are also promoting another cause with their third kit, which will debut in this match. The Catalan club announced that its third kit features a design inspired by the Cross of Saint Jordi award, which is the 2nd highest civilian honor bestowed by the government of Catalonia, behind only the Gold Medal of the Generalitat.
“It showcases Barça’s commitment to social causes, diversity and inclusion, core values that underpin its motto of being ‘more than a club’,” the club said in its official announcement.
The award was first bestowed 30 years ago, with FC Barcelona one of those first recipients, and the club is commemorating that anniversary with the third kit design. Lionel Messi was also a recipient of the award earlier in 2022, becoming the second footballer to earn the award after Johann Cruyff.
Introducing our new third kit… 😍 pic.twitter.com/rtcIY7xNPp
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) August 24, 2022
120 mins to kick: The focus of the match today is Juan Carlos Unzue, who was diagnosed with ALS in February of 2020. Match proceeds from Camp Nou will benefit ALS research.
.@PepTeam meets Juan Carlos Unzue ahead of tomorrow’s match 💚#ManCity | #TeamALS pic.twitter.com/wa9xQ2UpbS
— Manchester City (@ManCity) August 23, 2022
All united against ALS 💚 #TeamALS pic.twitter.com/kyPesWRnNm
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) August 23, 2022
Barcelona vs. Man City lineups & team news
Barcelona struggled to match up against a feisty Real Sociedad side through the first half last weekend, but Ansu Fati’s introduction early in the second period changed the game and led the Blaugrana to a 4-1 win.
Robert Lewandowski scored his first two Barcelona goals in that bounce-back win, including his first 44 seconds into the game. Xavi has a wealth of attacking options to support the Polish striker, and it’ll be a roll of the dice each game to figure out which trio he’ll go with on the day.
There are no injuries currently for the Barca boss to work around, although the status of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is up in the air given the possibility of his departure to Chelsea. Despite not yet being registered for La Liga play, defender Jules Kounde could feature. Sergio Busquets was suspended for the match against La Real but he could return in midfield in place of Frenkie de Jong.
Below is the club’s last starting lineup for the weekend’s La Liga match against Real Sociedad:
Barcelona most recent starting lineup (4-3-3): Ter Stegen (GK) — Balde, Christensen, Garcia, Araujo — Gavi, De Jong, Pedri — Dembele, Lewandowski, Torres.
Barcelona subs (12): (Lineups released one hour prior to kickoff)
👥 𝐒𝐐𝐔𝐀𝐃 𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓
⚽ Barça vs Manchester CityA great game for a greater cause #TeamALS 💚 pic.twitter.com/01KydydPk3
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) August 24, 2022
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola assured fans that the club would deploy a strong starting lineup, telling reporters upon the announcement of the match, “We’re going to bring all the big guns, don’t worry.”
However, there are a few injuries for the Premier League side to contend with. Most notably, Nathan Ake picked up an early groin problem against Newcastle on Sunday and did not travel with the squad to Barcelona. The Dutchman was replaced by Ruben Dias on Tyneside.
Aymeric Laporte is reportedly close to returning following knee surgery but is not yet available. Jack Grealish missed the Newcastle game with a knock, and while he traveled to Spain for the match, his status is unclear.
Below is the club’s last starting lineup for the weekend’s Premier League match against Newcastle, which resulted in a 3-3 draw:
Man City most recent starting lineup (4-3-3): Ederson (GK) — Cancelo, Ake, Stones, Walker — Gundogan, Rodri, Silva — Foden, Haaland, De Bruyne.
Man City subs (12): (Lineups released one hour prior to kickoff)
How to watch Barcelona vs. Man City
| Date | Time | TV Channel | Streaming | |
| Australia | Thu, Aug 25 | 05:30 AET | — | BarcaTV+, City+, Man City Recast |
| Canada | Wed, Aug 24 | 15:30 ET | — | BarcaTV+, City+, Man City Recast |
| Hong Kong | Thu, Aug 25 | 03:30 HKT | — | BarcaTV+, City+, Man City Recast |
| India | Thu, Aug 24 | 01:00 IST | — | BarcaTV+, City+, Man City Recast |
| Malaysia | Thu, Aug 25 | 03:30 MYT | — | BarcaTV+, City+, Man City Recast |
| New Zealand | Thu, Aug 25 | 07:30 NZST | — | BarcaTV+, City+, Man City Recast |
| Singapore | Thu, Aug 25 | 03:30 SST | — | BarcaTV+, City+, Man City Recast |
| UK | Wed, Aug 24 | 20:30 BST | — | BarcaTV+, City+, Man City Recast |
| USA | Wed, Aug 24 | 15:30 ET | CBS Sports Network | fuboTV |
USA: Champions League broadcaster CBS Sports Network will be carrying the match in the USA with that channel available to stream on fuboTV.
International: The club friendly will be broadcast around the globe via both clubs’ premium streaming services.
Barcelona will make the match available via BarcaTV+, while Man City is making the match accessible on both of the club’s streaming services City+ and Man City Recast.
City+ is a season-long subscription service to access all Man City content, similar to BarcaTV+, while Recast is a more cost-friendly pay-per-view subscription service offered by the Premier League side.
Why are Barcelona and Manchester City playing a charity match?
The match has been set up to support ALS research on behalf of former Pep Guardiola assistant coach Juan Carlos Unzue, who was diagnosed with the disease in early 2020.
Unzue, a former goalkeeper who briefly played for Barcelona (1988-1990), was an assistant coach at Barcelona from 2003-2010 and again from 2014-2017. He overlapped with Guardiola at the club from 2007-2010 before being hired to manage Numancia.
Unzue then took charge of Racing Santander before joining Celta Vigo as an assistant and then returning to Barcelona under Luis Enrique. The 55-year-old also took charge of Celta Vigo and Girona before his health forced him to retire.
All ticket sales and in-stadium match proceeds will go towards ALS research, with the game benefitting the Luzon Foundation.
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