From my personal point of view, this match depends on who will be the main starter in this match and what strategy the two coaches from these two teams apply. true I agree, too soon if we speculate for now. but when referring to their matches in the domestic league, my attention is more on what scenarios and strategies Ten Hag will apply later. whether Ten Hag will use a counterattack pattern, or will they play defensively in the first leg.
Meanwhile, bad news for Barcelona fans. Reportedly, Dembele will miss the playoffs due to a thigh injury against Girona. Dembele is expected to be out for three weeks to one month, most likely Dembele will not play when Barcelona meet Manchester United. if so, Xavi will automatically change his formation when entertaining United later. and this match, will be more competitive. by the way, it's a shame that this match was presented in the play-off round, this match should have been a Europa League final battle.
I would guess that Dembele would be an odd changer level of player, not their best player if you ask me but one of the best in the team and that should tell you something about how good he is considering being of the best in Barcelona is a huge deal.
However, it is still a very much undecided game, one of those games where the odds are saying one thing, but many people are not seeing it. The likely result would be Barcelona getting the win at home, and many odds are saying the same thing, but it is not as clear as that to me, I can't say that I am seeing how great Barcelona is over United, it looks like we are talking about something a bit more different. I feel like they are much closer.
I honestly believe that Dembele is a very good player for Barcelona. He is a very good player in general. But the thing is I think he's not being properly utilized in Barcelona.
And if we talk about how Barcelona is playing, I think we have to say that Barcelona is stable right now. But it is honestly hard to predict how far will be playing on a longer time span. Because I certainly think that Barcelona's squad is not balanced right now. So, it is very easy for Barcelona to perform absolutely opposite of how the odds are placed.