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Barcelona vs Girona LIVE!
Barcelona’s preparations for the new season continue with a preseason friendly against Girona tonight.
Barça’s 2019/20 season ended in desperation: The Blaugrana lost their LaLiga title to rival Real Madrid before crashing in the semi-finals of the Champions League in a humiliating 8-2 loss to Bayern Munich.
That defeat cost Ernesto Valverde his post, while the talisman Lionel Messi tried and failed to leave the club when Barça president Josep Maria Bartomeu won the contract match, at least for now.
New head coach Ronald Koeman now has the daunting task of trying to bring back an openly defiant Messi, while Barça must find a way to restore their national dominance and also compete in Europe.
Kicking off at 6pm BST, follow the action with Ben Hayward!
Live updates
10 minutes: Trincao displays exquisite control as he stretches his leg to knock down a high ball …
9 minutes: De Jong, in double pivot, runs with the ball from deep after a Girona attack fails …
7 minutes: Messi receives a foul and Barcelona has a free kick, but the ball goes headlong when it gets into the area …
6 minutes: Coutinho hits the crossbar with a floating shot from afar!
5 minutes: Messi finds Coutinho, who in turn stops for Jordi Alba. The low center of the left side clears for a corner …
4 minutes: Girona in possession now and hits a good ball from the right, but Sergio Busquets is there to intercept in his area and get the ball out …
3 minutes: Francisco Trincao is stopped short by a Girona defender as he seeks to dribble in the area …
2 minutes: Barcelona win a free kick, but the ball goes out of play after a badly placed pass and Girona takes a throw-in …
1 minute: Early possession for Barça. The Catalans play the ball up to goalkeeper Neto, who will likely start the season as Marc-Andre ter Stegen continues to recover from knee surgery …
KICK OFF
We are on our way to the Estadi Johan Cruyff!
The players are in the tunnel and will be out shortly. Barcelona today wears their new pink kit …
Just minutes from kick-off, Barcelona face Girona in their second pre-season friendly.
New coach Ronald Koeman has gone back to betting on a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Lionel Messi, Philippe Coutinho and Francisco Trincao starting behind Antoine Griezmann in attack.
Girona XI: Juan Carlos, Calavera, Alcala, Espinosa, Mojica, Gumbau, Kebe, Fernandez, Saiz, Izquierdo, Turmo
Messi begins.
Barcelona XI: Neto, Roberto, Piqué, Araujo, Alba, Busquets, De Jong, Trincao, Messi, Coutinho, Griezmann
Neto, Iñaki Pena, Arnau Tenas, N. Semedo, Piqué, Sergio, Griezmann, Messi, Dembélé, Coutinho, Lenglet, Jordi Alba, Braithwaite, Roberto, F. De Jong, Junior, Alena, Trincao, Pedri, Riqui Puig, Araujo , Cuenca, Konrad
We do know that Miralem Pjanic will NOT make his debut after being dropped from the team.
Official word on the teams to come shortly.
Welcome to our LIVE coverage of Barcelona’s pre-season friendly against Girona!
Start time and place
Barcelona vs Girona is scheduled to kick off at 6:00 pm BST.
The match will be played behind closed doors at Estadi Johan Cruyff without fans due to government guidelines on the coronavirus.
How to watch
The game will be televised live on the Barça TV + streaming service in Barcelona and also on Barça TV. Click here for more information.
Confirmed teams
Barcelona XI: Neto, Roberto, Piqué, Araujo, Alba, Busquets, De Jong, Trincao, Messi, Coutinho, Griezmann
Girona XI: Juan Carlos, Calavera, Alcala, Espinosa, Mojica, Gumbau, Kebe, Fernandez, Saiz, Izquierdo, Turmo
Prediction: Barcelona 3-1 Girona
There should be few problems for Barça against a team that finished fifth in Segunda B last season; Expect a lot of rotation from Koeman and a comfortable win.
