Barcelona have played twice this summer, drawing 1-1 with Olot before beating Inter Miami 6-0, but Real Madrid have not played since beating Liverpool 1-0 in the Champions League final at the end of May. Barcelona opened their preparations for the new campaign with a 1-1 draw against Olot on July 13 before traveling to America last weekend for their pre-season tour.
The Catalan giants recorded a 6-0 win over Inter Miami in the first leg on Tuesday night.
Xavi's side face Real Madrid, Juventus and the New York Red Bulls in the final three friendlies of their summer tour before facing the Pumas in the Joan Gamper Trophy on August 7. The team's 2022-23 La Liga campaign begins on August 13 at home to Rio Vallecano. Barcelona made four signings in the summer window, bringing in Andreas Christensen and Frank Kesey on free transfers, while Rafinha and Robert Lewandowski arrived in big-money deals, and the club managed to make some statements despite their financial woes. The Catalan side finished second in La Liga last season, 13 points behind champions Real Madrid, who won the league 2-1 at the Camp Nou at the start of the 2021-22 campaign. Barcelona beat Los Blancos 4-0 at the Bernabeu in March, however, and Xavi's side sent a message with a dominant El Clasico win.
While the 2021-22 campaign proved to be a disappointing season for Barcelona, the same could not be said for Real Madrid who won the La Liga and Champions League double. Carlo Ancelotti's side are looking strong for the rest of the competition in Spain's top flight with 26 wins, eight draws and four defeats from 38 matches to take them to 86 points, 13 ahead of second-placed Barcelona. Real Madrid beat Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Manchester City in the knockout rounds of last season's Champions League to reach the final, where they lifted the trophy for the 14th time in their history with a 1-0 win over Liverpool. Capitals will compete for the title again in 2022-23. The Spanish champions have bolstered their squad this summer with the signings of Aurelien Choumeni and Antonio Rudiger; Kylian Mbappe was also expected to arrive on a free transfer, but the France international opted to sign a new deal with Paris Saint-Germain instead. Ancelotti recently insisted that the club's transfer business is over, but it would not be surprising to see them bolster their squad with another new signing before the end of the window, as several first-team players are currently linked with moves away. From the club. Lewandowski could make his debut for Barcelona and his move to Bayern Munich is now official, although he is unlikely to make the team directly, with the striker likely to come off the bench. Gerard Pique and Ferran Torres, who missed out against Inter Miami with fitness issues, are expected to feature for the Catalan side, while Sergio Busquets, Ronald Araujo, Jordi Alba and Gavi could all make the squad following the clash with Inter Miami. Frenkie de Jong is unlikely to start amid speculation surrounding his future, with Pedri, Gavi and Busquets likely to start behind Aubameyang, Ferran Torres and Rafinha, with Dembele and Memphis expected to feature on the bench for the Catalan outfit.
As for Real Madrid, summer signings Rudiger and Choumeny could start El Clasico, with the former likely to feature alongside Eder Militao in the middle of defence. So David Alaba could start at left-back, with Toni Kroos and Casemiro likely to line up with Choumeni in a midfield three. A strong squad includes the likes of Eden Hazard, Rodrigo, Vinicius Jr and Karim Benzema, with all four players expected to feature at some stage of the match. Marco Asensio is also in the squad, although he has been strongly linked with a summer exit, and it remains to be seen how much he will be involved in the summer amid speculation surrounding his future. Barcelona have already played two friendlies this summer against Olot and Inter Miami. Barcelona look to keep their winning streak alive with a 6-0 win over Inter Miami. Last season, the Catalan side finished second in LaLiga, 13 points behind champions Real Madrid. Barcelona will be looking to make a statement this season by defeating the reigning La Liga champions at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Saturday.
Will Lewandowski make his Barcelona debut against Real Madrid?
Barcelona's new signing Robert Lewandowski has been in training during the week after completing his blockbuster move to Camp Nou from Bayern Munich. As the Polish international joined his teammates in Las Vegas for the pre-season friendly against Real Madrid, he is likely to make his Barca debut against them.
There is a summer Elclassico in the United States
There has been a lot of excitement around Real Madrid and Barcelona this summer, with the latter signing some exciting players and strengthening the former European champions' squad. Two LaLiga Santander giants will clash in the United States in a pre-season Clásico as they prepare for the 2022/23 season, which will leave fans salivating. Rafinha's recently reported comments about Real Madrid had fans keen on the game, although the Brazilian insisted he was not claiming Barcelona were better than Los Blancos. Still, there's likely to be a bit of spice around the conflict.
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