Gist World

Match preview: FC Barcelona v Leicester City

The Catalan giants take on last season's Cinderella team in a pre-season friendly in Stockholm, Sweden

Leo Messi started and played the first half of Barça's 3–1 win over Celtic on Saturday in Dublin. | MIGUEL RUIZ - FCB

In a pre-season battle sure to rouse comparisons with the fairy tales of yore, the reigning champions of the Spanish La Liga and the English Premier League go toe-to-toe when global giants FC Barcelona and last season’s Cinderella side Leicester City square off in Match 11 of the International Champions Cup in Stockholm, Sweden. Kick-off at the Friends Arena on Wednesday night is set for 8.00pm, Central European Time.
Team news
The Catalans are bringing 21 players up north into Scandinavia for Wednesday’s match. Sergio Busquets and Javier Mascherano join the squad along with nine from the reserves, while Marc-André Ter Stegen, Claudio Bravo, Ivan Rakitic, Thomas Vermaelen, Gerard Piqué, Douglas, Jordi Alba and Andrés Iniesta will stay back, despite having returned to training following their summer vacations.
Here is the full squad headed to Stockholm: Jordi Masip, Sergio Busquets, Arda Turan, Luis Suárez, Leo Messi, Javier Mascherano, Munir El Haddadi, Sergi Roberto, Aleix Vidal, Jérémy Mathieu, Denis Suárez, Sergi Samper, José Suárez, Marlon, Martínez, Carbonell, Aleñá, Nili, Alfaro, Cámara and Mujica.
Form guide
FC Barcelona opened the pre-season on Saturday with a 3–1 victory over Celtic FC in Dublin, Ireland. It was the first of three games scheduled for Barça in the 2016 International Champions Cup. Barça will be at Wembley Stadium in London to face Liverpool on 6 August for their final fixture of the pre-season friendly tournament.
Leicester opened the competition with a penalty shootout win over Celtic in Glasgow, a solid start indeed. But their early pre-season outlook was tempered on Sunday when they fell to Paris Saint-Germain, 4–0, at the StubHub Center in Los Angeles, California.