Midfield men ready for Barcelona test
Manchester United midfielders Andreas Pereira and Scott McTominay are eagerly anticipating next week's huge UEFA Champions League clash against Barcelona.
The Spanish champions travel to Old Trafford for the first leg of the quarter-final tie on Wednesday night, and both Andreas and Scott are in no doubt that our impressive record in this season's competition can help us overcome Ernesto Valverde's men.
Both players put in outstanding performances last month as the Reds eliminated Paris Saint-Germain in the last-16 stage to set up the tantalising upcoming showdown with Barca.
“Against the big clubs, we rise to the occasion,” Andreas told MUTV in an exclusive interview, that you can watch during our pre-match build-up from 18:30 BST on Wednesday.
“We show our character. We show the real Man United spirit and I think, after what we did against PSG, other teams will be more ready for that, so they will respect us even more.”
The young Brazilian has played in front of some big crowds already during his career to date, but Pereira knows our phenomenal fans will produce a unique playing environment next week.
"I can imagine it will be an unbelievable atmosphere,” he said.
“We show our character. We show the real Man United spirit and I think, after what we did against PSG, other teams will be more ready for that, so they will respect us even more.”
The young Brazilian has played in front of some big crowds already during his career to date, but Pereira knows our phenomenal fans will produce a unique playing environment next week.
"I can imagine it will be an unbelievable atmosphere,” he said.
“We will be ready for it. We have a lot of time to prepare. The fans [do] as well, because they don’t have a game at the weekend, so I know they will be pumped up to watch the game.”
The Reds are not in action this weekend, as our Premier League match against Wolverhampton Wanderers was moved to midweek due to the Midlands club's participation in the Emirates FA Cup semi-finals.
With an extra few days to prepare for the match, McTominay has said he and his team-mates will be working hard to finalise their tactical approach for the game.
“The boys are so professional,” the midfielder told MUTV.
The Reds are not in action this weekend, as our Premier League match against Wolverhampton Wanderers was moved to midweek due to the Midlands club's participation in the Emirates FA Cup semi-finals.
With an extra few days to prepare for the match, McTominay has said he and his team-mates will be working hard to finalise their tactical approach for the game.
“The boys are so professional,” the midfielder told MUTV.
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“It doesn’t matter when you play. It could be a month from now and everyone would still be raring to go and at it. I feel like we’ve got a good group of boys here and everybody wants to work for each other.
“Anything can happen and that’s football. There’s so much to be positive about with a big Champions League [night] coming up and it’s one of them that we need to relish now. We need to smile now when we go on the pitch and we need to play with confidence,” he added.
For Scott, the double header against Barcelona will be among the biggest nights of his career to date. However, should he need any advice or tips on handling Barcelona, the Scotland international need only ask his team-mate, Andreas.
During his two-year stint in La Liga, the 23-year-old faced Barcelona five times - including a Copa del Rey semi-final showdown at the Nou Camp.
“Anything can happen and that’s football. There’s so much to be positive about with a big Champions League [night] coming up and it’s one of them that we need to relish now. We need to smile now when we go on the pitch and we need to play with confidence,” he added.
For Scott, the double header against Barcelona will be among the biggest nights of his career to date. However, should he need any advice or tips on handling Barcelona, the Scotland international need only ask his team-mate, Andreas.
During his two-year stint in La Liga, the 23-year-old faced Barcelona five times - including a Copa del Rey semi-final showdown at the Nou Camp.
“When I played against them at Granada, it was a different type [of football],” said Andreas.
“We went there just to sit back, but with Valencia it was different. We played a semi-final of the cup against them. It’s a difficult opponent, of course, but it’s 11 v 11 in the end so everything is possible.
“We did a great job there, Manchester United is a bigger club [than Valencia] and we can go there and play with confidence.
“Of course, Valencia is a big club as well, but Manchester United is one of the biggest clubs in the world. They [Barcelona] know we’re a big club. We have great players, a great team, so they have to respect us as well and I think they will, like we do for them.”
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“We went there just to sit back, but with Valencia it was different. We played a semi-final of the cup against them. It’s a difficult opponent, of course, but it’s 11 v 11 in the end so everything is possible.
“We did a great job there, Manchester United is a bigger club [than Valencia] and we can go there and play with confidence.
“Of course, Valencia is a big club as well, but Manchester United is one of the biggest clubs in the world. They [Barcelona] know we’re a big club. We have great players, a great team, so they have to respect us as well and I think they will, like we do for them.”
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