Revealed: Barcelona boss Xavi's 'antidote' to in-form Rashford in Europa League clash against Man United
Barcelona will host Manchester United in their Europa League clash on Thursday, and all eyes will be on how Xavi Hernandez plans to tackle the threat from in-form Marcus Rashford.
FollowAll eyes will be on in-form Marcus Rashford when Manchester United travel to Barcelona to take on the La Liga leaders in their Europa League first-leg clash on Thursday. And according to reports, the Catalan club's boss Xavi Hernandez has devised a special strategy to keep the Englishman quiet in the play-off clash at Camp Nou.
Man United manager Erik ten Hag has broken many a record in the opening seven months of his reign at Old Trafford and will now aim to mastermind the Red Devils' first-ever win at the iconic stadium on the club's seventh trip to Barcelona.
After getting knocked out of the Champions League group stage, Xavi has plans to help Barcelona extend its winning streak to 11 games and get significantly closer to the round of 16. According to AS, the Barcelona boss plans to utilise Ronald Araujo as the 'antidote' to the in-form Rashford. Araujo is expected to silence the England international as the Red Devils attempt to gain an advantage back at M16.
The report claims Barcelona's Araujo has been told to ensure he doesn't allow Rashford to 'receive balls into space'. In that situation, Xavi Herandez thinks the 25-year-old forward is most dangerous when he teams up with Luke Shaw, a longtime United and England teammate.
Meanwhile, Raphinha is rumoured to have been assigned a specific task to neutralise Shaw and stop his frequent bombardments down the left flank.
Rashford is having a dream season, registering 21 goals and eight assists in 34 games in all competitions. In his last nine Premier League games, he has scored eight times, most recently helping Ten Hag's team defeat Leeds United on Sunday.
Also read: How is Ronaldo's Man United exit linked to Rashford's stellar form? Garth Crooks explains
However, Araujo will be well prepared for the challenge after being asked to play a similar role in recent El Clasico matches with Real Madrid against Vinicius Jr. His "next target" is Rashford, and Barcelona is sure that if he is taken out of the game, United will lose a significant threat.
With Jadon Sancho or Alejandro Garnacho on the right wing and Wout Weghorst in the centre, the 25-year-old is expected to start on the left wing.
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