Barcelona and Tottenham Hotspur cap off their preparations for the 2023-24 campaign on Tuesday, as Xavi's men welcome their English counterparts to the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys for the next edition of the Joan Gamper Trophy.
The Spanish champions ended their USA tour with a 1-0 triumph over Italian giants AC Milan last week, while Spurs thumped Shakhtar Donetsk 5-1 at the weekend.
Match preview
Conceding five goals to Arsenal was hardly the ideal way for Barcelona to kick off their warm-up period for the new term, but once the cobwebs had been blown off, Xavi's side demonstrated their title-winning credentials in what remained of the Soccer Champions tour.
Following their 5-3 defeat to the Gunners, Xavi's men thumped long-time adversaries Real Madrid 3-0 in a typically fiery Clasico, before getting the better of AC Milan in Nevada courtesy of a solitary Ansu Fati strike last Tuesday, although goalkeeper Inaki Pena had to be called upon to keep the Rossoneri at bay.
While Barcelona have now touched back down on Catalonian soil, Xavi's men will be playing in somewhat unfamiliar surroundings for the 2023-24 campaign, as the 54,000-capacity Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys - which hosted the 1992 Summer Olympics - will be their headquarters while renovations take place at Camp Nou.
A change in scenery should pale into insignificance for Barcelona, though, as La Blaugrana are aiming to get their hands on the friendly Joan Gamper Trophy for the 46th time, having posted a 6-0 romping over Mexican side UNAM in the 2022 edition.
The tournament hosts have now won each of the last 10 Joan Gamper Trophy matches since a 1-0 loss to Sampdoria in 2012, while Tottenham will be making just their second appearance in the friendly competition, having managed a 2-1 win over Milan in 1986 during the days of the four-team tournament.
For the past couple of weeks, barely a day has gone by without another update on the future of Tottenham talisman Harry Kane, but the England skipper remains totally unfazed by the ever-growing speculation and demonstrated as such when Shakhtar came to town.
Spurs welcomed their Ukrainian counterparts to North London on Sunday for a charity friendly, with funds being raised to help those affected by the Russian invasion, and Kane put in a true captain's performance with a magnificent four-goal haul in front of his adoring fans.
Dane Scarlett - who certainly has a lot to live up to if he wants to follow in Kane's footsteps - was also in target in Ange Postecoglou's first home game in charge, as Spurs recorded back-to-back 5-1 wins following their thrashing of Lion City Sailors in Singapore.
The Joan Gamper Trophy represents the last exhibition game on Tottenham's schedule before they open their Premier League season away to London rivals Brentford on August 13, by which point Kane will supposedly pledge his allegiance to Spurs for the 2023-24 season if Bayern Munich are still unable to twist Daniel Levy's arm.
Kane was on target when Spurs tackled Barcelona in the 2018-19 Champions League group stage, but the Lilywhites went down 4-2 at Wembley that day before a 1-1 draw in Catalonia not long after, and they also failed to get the better of their Spanish counterparts in the 1981-82 Cup Winners' Cup semi-finals.
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