Barcelona head coach Xavi is expecting Thursday's Europa League knockout round playoff second leg against Manchester United at Old Trafford to be "a great game".

The contest is delicately poised following a 2-2 draw in the first leg last week, with the winner of the tie set to advance to the knockout round of the competition.

Barcelona are unbeaten in all competitions since the end of October, when Bayern Munich beat them 3-0 in the group stage of the Champions League.

Meanwhile, Man United have only lost on one occasion since the start of November, with both teams entering the contest in strong form.

Xavi has said that his side will have to "match" the home team's "mentality, pace and passion" in order to stand a chance of progressing to the next stage.

"It will be a great game, the stadium is marvellous, the atmosphere. Both teams are in great form, we are talking about an opponent that is one of the best in Europe at the moment and we hope to give our best," Xavi told reporters during Wednesday's press conference.

"Manchester United have mentality, pace and passion, they showed it at Camp Nou and we have to match them.

"We have to have personality and a lot of intensity, as well as the mentality to beat a big team in Europe. It's a perfect scenario."

Xavi is also expecting the second leg to be "similar" to the reverse game at Camp Nou last week.

"I think so, it will be similar. They will press more because of the atmosphere, it will be one of the best games you can see in Europe," he added.

Xavi also opened up on Barcelona's absences for the match, with Gavi suspended, while Pedri and Ousmane Dembele will miss the game due to hamstring issues.

"We're missing Pedri and Gavi, but I would highlight the absence of Dembele for everything he gives us. Pedri gives us rhythm, Gavi gives us the intensity that would be necessary tomorrow," said the head coach.

"There are alternatives to compensate for Pedri and Gavi's absences, we have to bring order, intensity. We are here to compete. The absences can't be an excuse. I think we have the team to win and go through."

However, Barcelona's squad has been boosted by the return of club captain Sergio Busquets, who has recently been on the sidelines with an ankle problem.

Busquets was back in the squad against Cadiz in La Liga on Sunday, and he could now be brought into the starting XI for the clash with Erik ten Hag's side. body check tags ::