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Spanish Champions Barcelona are currently on the Asia Tour as a part of their preseason campaigning. They are to take part in two friendly football games in Japan before heading towards Camp Nou to face Arsenal in Joan Gamper Trophy match. Barcelona couldn’t make a memorable start in the land of the rising sun as they were beaten by UEFA Europa League title holders Chelsea. Now the Catalans will play their second as well as their last game of this Japan tour against J1 side Vissel Kobe. The match will be hosted by the Noevir Stadium Kobe, which was formerly known as the Kobe Wing Stadium. The fixture has been scheduled to take place at 6 pm local time (10 am BST).
Match Details:
- Participating Teams: Vissel Kobe Vs Barcelona
- Competition: Friendly Match
- Date: 27th July
- Time: 10 am BST / 9 am GMT / 6 pm Local
- Day: Saturday
- Venue: Noevir Stadium Kobe
- Location: 1-2-2 Misaki-Cho, Hyogo-ku, Kobe, Japan
- Capacity: 30,132
- Surface: Grass
Vissel Kobe Squad:
- Goalkeepers: Kim Seung-Gyu, Kenshin Yoshimaru, Kota Ogi, Daiya Maekawa, Genta Ito.
- Defenders: Dankler, Daisuke Nasu, Hirofumi Watanabe, Daiki Miya, Ryo Hatsuse, Junya Tanaka, Leo Osaki, Wataru Hashimoto.
- Midfielders: Hotaru Yamaguchi, Sergi Samper, Andres Iniesta, Keijiro Ogawa, Kyogo Furuhashi, Asahi Masuyama, Daigo Nishi, Masatoshi Nihara, Yuta Goke, Yuya Nakasaka, So Fujitani, Takuya Yasui, Yuki Kobayashi.
Forwards : David Villa, Lukas Podolski, Wellington.
Barcelona Squad :
- Goalkeepers: Marc Andre Ter Stegen, Luis Neto, Inaki Pena.
- Defenders: Gerard Pique, Jordi Alba, Clement Lenglet, Samuel Umtiti, Ronald Araujo, Nelson Semedo, Guilleme Jaime.
- Midfielders: Ivan Rakitic, Sergio Busquets, Arthur, Malcom, Rafnha, Philippe Coutinho, Carles Alena, Jean-Clair Todibo, Monchu, Arturo Vidal, Frenkie De Jong, Serhi Roberto.
- Forwards: Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Antoine Griezmann, Ousmane Dembele, Hiroki Abe.
Vissel Kobe Last 5 Matches:
- 0-2 Defeat vs Yokohama F. Marinos
- 1-3 Defeat vs Shonan Bellmare
- 1-2 Defeat vs Shimizu S-Pulse
- 4-0 Win vs Giravanz
- 5-3 Win vs Nagoya Grampus Eight
Barcelona Last 5 Matches:
- 1-2 Defeat vs Chelsea
- 1-2 Defeat vs Valencia
- 2-2 Draw vs Eibar
- 2-0 Win vs Getafe
- 0-4 Defeat vs Liverpool
Predicted Result: Vissel Kobe 1 – 3 Barcelona
Match Preview: You may not be a regular J1 League watcher but the team we’re talking about, has some heavyweight former European super stars in it’s squad, whom you used to watch on regular occasions, including two former FIFA World Cup champions! Can you guess whom am I talking about? Yes, you can. The legendary Spanish duo and former Barcelona superstars Andres Iniesta and David Villa. Can you remember former Hoffenheim striker Wellington Louis de Silva? He also plays for the Ushis. But despite having so many stars in their list, Thorsten Fink’s lads are in 15th position in the league table and have tasted defeat thrice in the trot. Now let’s see whether their magical Catalan duo can provide some magic against their very familiar former club or not.
Antoine Griezmann got his Barca debut against Chelsea but would like to forget as it ended as a bitter defeat against the Blues. Frenkie De Jong also had the same fate as well. No Messi or Suarez featured for the Blaugranas, so Griezmann has to take the responsibility in his own neck.
I’m predicting a 3-1 victory for the visitors. Their new super star signing might get his first ever Barca goal in this match.
