Barcelona vs Juventus: Previewing the Joan Gamper Trophy
Juventus’ preparations for the 2021/22 season continue on Sunday night as they take on a Lionel Messi-less Barcelona in the Joan Gamper Trophy.
The Bianconeri last competed in the annual fixture in 2005, where they beat Frank Rijkaard’s Blaugrana on penalties.
Following victories over Cesena and Monza in their opening two pre-season clashes, Barcelona represent a much sterner test – even if they have been rocked by Messi’s shocking departure in the week – and the fixture will certainly help Massimiliano Allegri gauge where his side are at with their Serie A opener just two weeks away.
Nevertheless, here’s our preview of Sunday’s friendly.
Where to Watch?
When is kick-off? Sunday 8 July, 20:30 (BST)
Where is the match being played? Nou Camp, Barcelona
What TV channel is it on? Premier Sports 1 (UK), ESPN+ (US)
Team News
Ronald Koeman will be without Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Ansu Fati and Ousmane Dembele through injury, while Pedri, Oscar Mingueza and Eric Garcia are away with the Spanish Olympic squad.
Nevertheless, Barcelona are expected to field a strong starting XI with perennial first-teamers Gerard Pique, Jordi Alba, Antoine Griezmann and Sergio Busquets all available. Summer signing Memphis Depay is also in line to start, as is Frenkie De Jong.
Cristiano Ronaldo, meanwhile, is set to enjoy his first minutes of pre-season on Sunday following his delayed return to Continassa. The Portuguese icon was absent for the victory over Monza last weekend.
Daniele Rugani is likely to replace the departed Merih Demiral and partner Matthijs de Ligt at centre-back for Juventus, while youngsters Filippo Ranocchia and Matias Soule could retain their places in Allegri’s XI.
Predicted Lineups
Barcelona: Neto; Dest, Araujo, Pique, Alba; De Jong, Busquets, Roberto; Griezmann, Braithwaite, Memphis.
Juventus: Szczesny; De Sciglio, De Ligt, Rugani, Pellegrini; Ranocchia, Ramsey, McKennie; Kulusevski, Ronaldo, Soule.
Head-to-Head Record
These two behemoths of European football have met 16 times in history, including one friendly. Both sides have claimed six triumphs.
Their most high-profile meeting came in the 2015 Champions League final where ‘MSN’ helped Barcelona to a 3-1 victory over Allegri’s Bianconeri.
This fixture also thrust Paulo Dybala into the limelight back in 2017 as his superb first leg brace helped Juve to a Champions League quarter-final triumph on their way to another final defeat.
Pre-Season Form
With La Liga kicking off next weekend, Barcelona are a step ahead in their preparations compared to Juventus. La Blaugrana have played four pre-season games thus far, winning three. Their victories came against Gimnastic (4-0), Girona (3-1) and Stuttgart (3-0), although they did taste defeat last time out against RB Salzburg.
As for Juventus, their pre-season has consisted of a pair of fixtures up to this point. A youthful Bianconeri beat Cesena 3-1 two weeks ago before Monza were defeated 2-1 in the Berlusconi Trophy last Saturday.
Allegri’s side will take on Atalanta in an all Italian clash next weekend to conclude their season preparations.
Prediction
Pre-season friendlies are almost impossible to predict, especially when two supergiants are competing. The Messi bombshell would’ve undoubtedly been a distraction for the hosts amid their preparations for this fixture, but they’re a week ahead of Juventus in terms of getting up to speed for 2021/22.
The Bianconeri have waltzed through their opening two pre-season fixtures and Sunday will be a huge test, especially for the youngsters who have impressed up to this point. Overall, the result doesn’t really matter here, but Barcelona should be favoured.
Score prediction: Barcelona 2-1 Juventus