Soccer fans in Washington should be treated to an exhibition match of the highest quality as Spanish and European champions Barcelona take on English champions Chelsea at the FedEx Field in Maryland.
Ticket prices continue to soar in the lead-up to tonight's match, which will see the two sides renew a rivalry that goes back to 1966 but has increased in recent seasons.
Having only played once before 2000, Chelsea and Barcelona have traded blows in recent Champions League campaigns with their most dramatic, even controversial ties in the competition's Semi-Final stages in 2005 and 2012.
For Barcelona, having been outclassed in their previous fixture by Manchester United, the match against Chelsea will be an opportunity to get back on track as they prepare for the new season and try to get back to their dominating best.
Coach Luis Enrique will still be unable to call upon his South American trio Lionel Messi, Javier Mascherano and Dani Alves who continue to be absent from the Barcelona squad after their Copa America exploits.
Enrique will likely utilize the youth players in his squad and speaking before the game confirmed Spaniard Sergi Roberto would feature after impressing in the Catalan's last two fixtures.
Enrique said: "Sergi Roberto at right back is another option. The more options we have the better. He looked good playing at full back."
Chelsea, meanwhile will look to extend the game-time of their returning Copa America stars, most notably Colombian Radamel Falcao who made his first appearance for Chelsea last Sunday against Paris Saint-Germain.
Coach Jose Mourinho told Chelsea TV: "I discussed it a lot with [assistant coach] Rui Faria and we thought that 20 minutes of football is more rich, has more ingredients than training in a small group of three, so we decided to give Falcao, Willian and Juan Cuadrado... Now they are not ready to start against Barcelona, but I think they can go from 20 to 30 minutes. I will give them that."
Having not won in regulation time thus far on their tour of the US this summer, Mourinho will want to see a more ruthless side to his team's attack and though he is likely to rotate his squad throughout the match will want to see a consistency to his team's play as they build towards Sunday´s Community Shield Final.
Describing the match as the "best training we could have." Mourinho wont be too concerned with the score but a convincing victory for either side could provide a slight psychological advantage if the two teams are to meet again in the Champions League next season.
When: Wednesday 28th July
Where: FedEx Field, Landover, Maryland
Kick-Off: 20:00 EDT
Live Stream: Fox Soccer 2Go
TV: Fox Soccer Two, ESPN Deportes (Spanish)
Prediction: The defense on both sides have not been at their best so far this pre-season, so we could see several goals for both teams. Expect an attacking match ending in a high-scoring draw.
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