The first leg lived up to the pre-match hype, and now Manchester United and Barcelona renew hostilities at Old Trafford on Thursday night to determine who will progress from their Europa League knockout round playoff tie.

The two continental giants – who competed in the Champions League final only 12 years ago – played out a 2-2 draw at Camp Nou last week, and a similarly exhilarating contest can be expected at the Theatre of Dreams.

After a 3-0 win over Leicester in the Premier League on Sunday, Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag apparently told the fans to “make sure you are there” on Thursday for the big game against Barcelona after a scintillating 2-2 draw at Camp Nou last week. Little wonder because this could be a season-defining week for the Red Devils with this second leg UEFA Europa League (UEL) playoffs followed by the Carabao Cup final against Newcastle.

They couldn’t have asked for a better place to be than home for this match, having lost just two of their last 11 UEFA home games (W6, D3) although both were 1-0 defeats against Spanish clubs. The most recent was against Real Sociedad in this UEL campaign, after which they’ve subsequently gone unbeaten in 17 competitive home matches (W15, D2) signalling Old Trafford’s return to the famous fortress that it once was.

Barça did win on their most recent H2H visit in 2019, but will have to repeat those heroics here without the suspended Gavi and injured Pedri. Manager Xavi Hernández was “proud” of his side in the first-leg which they followed up with a 2-0 win over Cádiz on Sunday to maintain an eight-point lead at the top in La Liga. That made it an incredible 18-match unbeaten run (W16, D2) and means Barcelona are unlikely to be fazed by United’s recent home dominance.

Xavi may still be worried about his team’s travels in Europe amid an underwhelming record across their last nine UEFA road trips (W3, D2, L4). The Catalans do not particularly have fond memories of England either with their recent visit ending in a 4-0 thumping at Liverpool, their heaviest against any Premier League club.

Key battle: David de Gea equalled Peter Schmeichel’s record of 180 clean sheets for United over the weekend but would happily trade that for his first-ever H2H shutout.

Trying to prevent that will be Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski whose 38 goals in 32 major UEFA matches since the start of 2018/19 is more than any other player.

Hot stat: Including the reverse fixture, Barcelona have failed to score before half-time in seven of their last 11 UEFA matches.

Manchester United Europa League form:

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Manchester United form (all competitions):

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Barcelona Europa League form:

Barcelona form (all competitions):

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Manchester United possible starting lineup:

De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Varane, Martinez, Shaw; Casemiro, Sabitzer; Sancho, Fernandes, Rashford; Weghorst

Barcelona possible starting lineup:

Ter Stegen; Kounde, Araujo, Alonso, Alba; De Jong, Busquets, Kessie; Raphinha, Lewandowski, Fati

Even with thoughts of an imminent EFL Cup final derail threatening to derail their train of thought, Man United’s prolific charges have slayed many foes at Old Trafford this season, and an absentee-hit Barcelona should become the latest victims of the Red Devils’ superiority.

A more clinical side than Leicester would have taken one of their multitude of first-half chances at the weekend, so while Xavi’s side can still expect joy in the final third, Man United’s affinity for multiple-goal showings should see them through to the last 16 as Barcelona pack their bags early once again.