De Jong and Lewandowski start in Barcelona predicted line-up vs Manchester United

Barcelona will be without two key players for the first leg of their Europa League play off tie with Manchester United on Thursday night, with Ousmane Dembele and Sergio Busquets both out injured.

French winger Dembele is set to miss both legs of the tie with a thigh injury, while veteran midfielder Busquets is also likely to miss the two matches after injuring his ankle. Despite being without the duo, Xavi will still be confident about getting a positive result against Erik ten Hag's men.

The Catalan giants have won their last 11 matches in all competitions, and currently boast an 11-point advantage of rivals Real Madrid at the top of the La Liga table. Barcelona dropped into the Europa League after failing to qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League, while United finished second in their group.

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The Reds have not faced Barcelona since they met in the Champions League in April 2019, with the Spanish club winning 3-0 on that occasion.

Barcelona currently have the best defensive record in Europe, but Xavi has not been afraid to change his team for certain matches in different competitions. Jules Kounde is the only defender to have started 20 or more matches in all competitions this season, and the Frenchman might start at right-back in an attempt to nullify the in-form Marcus Rashford. On the other flank, Jordi Alba will be aiming to use his experience to guide the Catalan side through the mouth-watering tie. The La Liga outfit are expected to start with Ronald Araujo and Andreas Christensen at the heart of the defence. They will all play in front of goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

In midfield, the absence of Busquets comes