Confirmed: Barcelona will face Birmingham City in a pre-season friendly | OneFootball

FC Barcelona’s third pre-season under Hansi Flick is beginning to take shape. As already confirmed, the squad is due back at the Ciutat Esportiva on 13 July for medical tests and the first training sessions ahead of the new campaign.

The team will then travel to England for a training camp at St George’s Park from 27 July to 3 August. During that stay, Barcelona will play their first pre-season friendly on 31 July.

Barcelona to face Birmingham City

Indeed, the Catalans have announced that they will take on Birmingham City, with kick-off scheduled for 7:45pm UK time (8:45pm in Spain). The game will be played at St Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park, home of the Championship side.

The match will mark the first meeting between the two clubs in over six decades.

Barcelona and Birmingham City have faced each other five times in official matches, all of them in the old Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, the predecessor of the current UEFA Europa League.

The historical record favors the Blaugrana, with three wins, one draw, and one loss in five encounters.

Birmingham’s squad includes familiar faces for Barcelona supporters, including Paik Seung-ho, who previously spent time in La Masia, and Carlos Vicente, who has faced Barcelona in the past while playing for Deportivo Alaves.

Chris Davies, Birmingham City manager. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

Another friendly planned

Barcelona are also expected to play a second friendly during their stay in England. The likely opponents are either Stoke City or Watford. That fixture is expected to be played behind closed doors.

Like Birmingham, both Stoke and Watford will compete in the Championship next season. The additional friendly is intended to give Flick further opportunities to assess his squad and build fitness before the competitive campaign begins.

Once the tour of England comes to an end, the Catalans are expected to play another friendly match, with a game against Liverpool in Kenya in the works.

After that, Barcelona will play the Joan Gamper Trophy Match – the club’s traditional season curtain-raiser, although the opponent for the game has yet to be finalised.