Cesc Fabregas returns to Catalonia for the first time as a manager on Sunday, as he prepares to face his former club for the Joan Gamper trophy. Find our Barcelona vs Como preview below, complete with the latest team news and our very own betting tips.
Barcelona vs Como Match Details
- Venue: Estadi Johan Cruyff
- Date and Kick-off: Sunday 10th August, 16:00 EST
- Odds: Barcelona -275 | Como +750 | Draw +450
- Pre-Season Record: Barcelona P3 W3 | Como P4 W4
Barcelona vs Como Preview
Barcelona play host to Como in the club’s annual pre-season competition; the Joan Gamper trophy.
A day of festivities for the fans ends in a friendly match, with a new opposition every season. This year the club have extended an invite to Cesc Fabregas’ Como.
Catalan born-and-bred, Fabregas spent his formative years at Barca, and then a brief stint as a senior player, making this a heart-warming full circle moment, as he returns as a manager.
His Como side, who have rapidly emerged from the depths of Serie B to become a full-fledged top-flight team, travel to Barcelona having enjoyed a strong pre-season.
Putting the violent mass brawl against Real Betis aside, their four victories have all come against strong opponents, with Como also toppling Ajax, Al-Ahli and Lille.
Meanwhile, Sunday’s opponents Barcelona have also registered a 100 percent record across their off-season, winning all three of their matches on their tour of Asia. The Blaugrana have scored 15 times in the process, including a seven-goal flurry against Seoul.
13 of the past 15 Joan Gamper trophies have belonged to Barcelona, with Sampdoria in 2012 and Monaco last season the only sides to break the trend.
This record doesn’t bode well for Como, and offshore sportsbooks are in agreement, with the Italian side heavy outsiders for Sunday’s meeting.
Nevertheless, Como find themselves in a pre-season purple patch, and for all Barcelona’s goalscoring exploits, they did concede four goals across their three games in Asia.
Barcelona Team News
Hansi Flick will have a near-full-strength side at his disposal against Como, bar Marc-Andre Ter Stegen, who has this week been stripped of his captaincy over a medical dispute.
Flick will likely use this fixture as an audition for a new-look defense, with Inigo Martinez announcing a surprise quick-fire move to Saudi Arabia.
Juventus target Ronald Araujo, who will now captain Barcelona following Ter Stegen’s controversy, will likely line-up alongside Pau Cubarsi on Sunday, who is expected to recover from a blow to the knee last time out.
Barcelona Predicted Line-Up: Garcia; Kounde, Araujo, Cubarsi, Balde; De Jong; Pedri, Yamal, Olmo, Raphinha; Lewandowski.
Como Team News
Cesc Fabregas is also expected to have a squad relatively free of injuries, although Alberto Dossena remains a long-term absentee with a cruciate ligament tear.
It is likely Fabregas will make several personnel changes to the team that beat Real Betis. Nico Paz, who is expected to stay at Como this summer despite heavy interest, and former Barcelona captain Sergi Roberto could return to the starting line-up.
Como Predicted Line-Up: Butez; Vojvoda, Van Der Brempt, Kempf, Moreno; Perrone, Da Cunha, Paz, Caqueret, Diao, Douvikas.
Barcelona vs Como Betting Tips
Over 2.5 Goals
Given both sides’ free-scoring pre-seasons so far, this could be a goal-laden friendly.
Barcelona have scored 15 and conceded four across their three matches, while Como have netted 12 in four, whilst allowing five.
Recent history also shows the Joan Gamper fixture to be a typically high-scoring affair, with over 2.5 goals in 10 of the last 12 editions.
Given Barcelona’s penchant for scoring goals but leaving themselves susceptible to conceding, it is easy to imagine there will be goals on Sunday. This pick has come through in nine of Barcelona’s 10 matches in all competitions.
Barcelona to Win
Given Barcelona are on hosting duties for what is essentially ‘their’ trophy, we are siding with the favorites.
Barca have largely been imperious since Flick’s arrival at the beginning of last season. Since losing to Inter in the Champions League semi-finals, they have won all but one of their following seven games, scoring an astonishing 26 goals in the process.
Como are their prickliest opponents of the pre-season so far, and that should translate to a much closer game than the odds suggest. However, it is difficult to choose anything other than a Barcelona win, given their iron-clad record in this annual pre-season showpiece.
The post Barcelona vs Como Match Preview, Team News, Predicted Line-Ups and Betting Tips appeared first on FootItalia.com.
