Barcelona vs AS Roma 01/08/18

1 August 2018

Barcelona opened the preparation period without Luis Suarez, Coutinho, and Lionel Messi, which didn’t prevent them from achieving a tight win over Tottenham Hotspur after a penalty-shoot-out after the match ended in a 2-2 draw, as they are now set to play against AS Roma at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, looking to step up their game a bit. After winning two domestic trophies last season, La Liga trophy as well as Copa del Rey, the Blaugrana’s appetites will hardly reduce, which is why Ernesto Valverde will be looking to get the maximum of the players he currently has at his disposal, which predominantly refers to Arthur and Malcom who arrived at the Camp Nou this summer, as well as, Andre Gomes and Denis Suarez who had a minor impact last season often struggling to find the right form. On the other hand, I Giallorossi featured in two low-profile friendly against Latina and Avellino before facing Tottenham Hotspur who destroyed them by four goals to one in their opening International Champions Cup match. After making a few important signings this summer, Eusebio Di Francesco hopes to repeat the similar performance to those from the Stadio Olimpico earlier this year when Roma managed to eliminate Barcelona in the Champions League semi-finals thanks to an outstanding 3-0 win at home.

Malcom, who almost signed for the Italian team a week ago,will have a chance to start the game from the first minute on the left wing for the Catalan giants, while Justin Kluivert and Diego Perotti should be the ones to help Edin Dzeko in the final third for Roma.