EFL Championship side to face Barcelona in pre-season friendly

EFL Championship side to face Barcelona in pre-season friendly

Birmingham City are set to face European giants Barcelona in a pre-season friendly this summer.

The Championship side will welcome Hansi Flick’s men, who are set to be based at St George’s Park, England’s national training centre.

The Spanish side will be set there for two weeks, with their scheduled arrival on July 27 and are expected to play two additional friendlies.

A date for the contest against Birmingham has not been confirmed.

Barcelona will travel to face Birmingham City

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With many internationals potentially on holiday for Barcelona’s tour following the World Cup, their squad could be limited.

However, these fixtures will help fill the gap before the upcoming season gets underway.

Barcelona noted that due to the World Cup, it was not “technically and commercially feasible to organise a proper overseas tour”.

The World Cup is scheduled to get underway from June 11 to July 19, taking place across the US, Mexico and Canada.

St Andrew’s will play host to Barcelona

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Birmingham finished in 10th place in the Championship this season, having been promoted from League One last year.

The Blues drew their last game of the season 1-1 against Portsmouth, who were on a strong run of form, winning four of their last five coming into the game.

They will host the liekly Spanish champions in the summer, with Barcelona nearly securing the LaLiga title ahead of Real Madrid, only needing one point from their final four games.

Birmingham will welcome Barcelona in the summer

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Barcelona still have four games to play, but will have to lose every single contest, with Real winning all of theirs.

With the title in their hands, it marks a strong season for Flick, only losing four games in the league all season.

Superstars like Raphinha and Lamine Yamal have been standouts for Barcelona this season, with the wingers having to turn from their usual Spanish turf to the Midlands.

Barcelona have had a successful campaign, on course to win the LaLiga title

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The contest will remind football fans of Real Madrid’s trip to the south coast in 2013, when they took on a then-Championship Bournemouth, winning 6-0.

Cristiano Ronaldo scored a brace in the match in a star-studded team including Luka Modric, Mesut Ozil, Gonzalo Higuain, Angel Di Maria and Casemiro.

The contest was played in front of a capacity crowd of 12,000, with Cherries fans able to feast their eyes on the Galacticos.

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