Barcelona vs Manchester United live stream and how to watch the UEFA Europa League online and on TV, team news as Lewandowski starts

Inside view of Camp Nou Stadium in Barcelona
(Image credit: Yuri Turkov via Shutterstock)

Barcelona vs Manchester United live stream

Barcelona vs Manchester United will be shown on BT Sport in the UK but you can also tune in to this Europa League match in the USA on Paramount+. You can also watch a Barcelona vs Manchester United live stream on Stan Sport in Australia. Use a VPN to watch your usual stream from anywhere if you happen to be abroad. Full details on how to watch Barcelona vs Manchester United on TV just below.

Barcelona vs Manchester United live stream: match preview

Manchester United visit Barcelona's cavernous Camp Nou on Thursday evening desperate to exorcise previous ghosts at Europe's biggest stadium in a fascinating Europa League knockout round play-off fixture. Two of the continent's most in-form teams have faced each other in three European finals – Barça winning two Champions Leagues to United's one Cup Winners' Cup – but the Red Devils are without a win in five previous meetings in the Catalan capital. A 3-0 defeat in April 2019 is still fresh in the memory, as is a 4-0 1994 shellacking from the great Romario and Hristo Stoichkov for fans of a certain vintage.

The teams are in and Barcelona name a strong side with Robert Lewandowski up front, Raphinha to his right and Gavi to his left. Franck Kessie starts in the absence of Sergio Busquets in midfield along with Pedri and Frenkie de Jong. Jordi Alba is in at left-back, while Ansu Fati, Ferran Torres and Andreas Christensen form a strong bench. Manchester United, meanwhile, also go with their strongest XI. That means Casemiro comes in after his domestic suspension to start alongside compatriot Fred in defensive midfield. Bruno Fernandes captains the side, with in-form Marcus Rashford to his left and and Jadon Sancho getting the nod on the right.  Wout Weghorst starts up front, with Harry Maguire, Diogo Dalto and Alejandro Garnacho on the bench. 

Barcelona manager Xavi is one game from greatness. The one-time Blaugrana midfield metronome guided his side to 11 wins in a row with victory over Villarreal at the weekend, equalling Pep Guardiola's Barça record, and defeating United tonight will see him enter the Camp Nou history books. Sure, some wags would say the club's 'creative' accountancy would have something to do with their run of form, but Xavi has restored a sense of optimism noticeably absent in the Catalan capital since they couldn't afford to keep Lionel Messi at the club 18 months ago. 

Polish goal machine Robert Lewandowski has 23 goals in all competitions this season, but it's the defence that has most impressed. Goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen has conceded just seven times in 21 La Liga appearances, with Jules Kounde also impressing the back four. Throw in young midfield schemers Pedri and Gavi and it's quite the team. Yet, Los Cules finished third in the Champions League group, losing three of four games to Bayern Munich and Inter Milan, showing a soft underbelly exists to be scratched if you can reach it.

Manchester United are in similarly fine form. Since the nadir of a 6-3 defeat to Manchester City in early October, the Red Devils have lost just two Premier League fixtures and last month avenged that loss to their city rivals with a 2-1 win of their own. Marcus Rashford has scored 13 goals in 15 appearances since the World Cup, the wide forward revelling in the trust of his manager and – whisper it – not having to live in Cristiano Ronaldo ego shadow anymore. 

Centre-back Lisandro Martinez has recovered well from a shaky start to combine fierce aggression with line-breaking passes into midfield, while Casemiro has arguably been the signing of the season as coach Erik ten Hag's anchor man. The Brazilian is serving a domestic ban currently and the ex-Real Madrid man will be determined to get one over his former Catalan foes. United finished second in their Europa League group to Real Sociedad, another Spanish side, and will want to end their hex at Camp Nou, where they haven't won in five attempts.

Barcelona vs Manchester United kicks off at 5.45pm GMT / 12.45pm EST today, Thursday 16th February, at the Camp Nou, Barcelona. Make sure you know how to watch a Barcelona vs Manchester United live stream.

US: watch Barcelona vs Manchester United

Football fans in the US can watch a Barcelona vs Manchester United live stream and every UEFA Europa League and Champions League fixture this season on Paramount+, from the group stages to the final.

You can get a one-month free trial of Paramount+ here using the code ADVANCE. After the trial ends, you'll pay just $5 a month ($10 a month if you want the ad-free plan).

The Paramount+ free trial is only available with the US and the offer ends on 4 April. Travelling overseas?

Use a VPN to watch Paramount+ from abroad without being blocked.

Barcelona vs Manchester United live stream

Barcelona vs Manchester United live stream | Paramount+ one-month trial
Watch UEFA Europa League and Champions League football for free with this 30-day free trial of Paramount Plus. You can choose from any of the Champions League and Europa League games. It's $5 a month once the trial expires. Cancel at any time.

Watch Barcelona vs Manchester United live stream from anywhere

You won't be able to watch your regular Barcelona vs Manchester United live stream while traveling abroad. The streaming service will spot that you're in a foreign country and block you. You can use a VPN (virtual private network) to get around this, though.

It's a straightforward piece of software that sets your device to appear as if it's in the right country, allowing you to watch any Barcelona vs Manchester United live stream from anywhere in the world.

We rate ExpressVPN as the best VPN for the Champions League. It offers a 30-day guarantee for all your money back if you're not happy with the service.

Try ExpressVPN risk-free for 30 days

Try ExpressVPN risk-free for 30 days
ExpressVPN offers a 30-day money back guarantee with its VPN service. You can use it to watch the Europa League live streams on your mobile, tablet, laptop, TV, games console and more. There's 24/7 customer support and three months free when you sign-up. Try it – it's easier than you think.

For the best value, try the 12-month subscription.

How to use a VPN for Barcelona vs Manchester United live stream

1. Install the VPN of your choice. ExpressVPN is the one we recommend.

2. Open up the VPN app and choose the location of the service you wish to access. For Barcelona vs Manchester United in the Champions League, you may wish to choose 'US' for Paramount+.

3. Then head over to Paramount+ on your browser or device and enjoy the free Barcelona vs Manchester United live stream!

Can you watch Barcelona vs Manchester United in the UK?

Rights to show Barcelona vs Manchester United and all UEFA club competitions in the UK belong to BT Sport, whose long-term deal means you'll also be able to watch all of the Europa League games. You can get BT Sport through BT TV, Sky TV and Virgin Media as well as through the BT Sport website and apps. Barcelona vs Manchester United will be on BT Sport 2 in HD and BT Sport Ultimate in 4K.

BT TV customers: Grab BT Sport from just £16 a month

BT TV customers: Grab BT Sport from just £16 a month Upgrading to all four BT Sport channels is no big deal if you’re already a BT customer. Those with BT TV already can access the channels for £16 per month. BT Broadband customers can enjoy the BT Sport app and watch on the go for the same price.

Don't want to be locked into a contract? You can also opt for a BT Sport Monthly Pass, which costs £25 per month. It's a rolling one-month contract and you can cancel anytime. The pass lets you stream all four BT Sport channels across iOS and Android devices, games consoles, Now TV set-top boxes, Roku players, and Amazon Fire TV devices.

BT Sport Monthly Pass: Champions League for £25

BT Sport Monthly Pass: Champions League for £25
The nifty BT Sport Monthly Pass lets you stream all four BT Sport channels across iOS and Android devices, games consoles, Now set-top boxes, Roku players and Amazon Fire TV devices. It's a rolling one month contract and you can cancel anytime.

Watch Barcelona vs Manchester United live stream in Australia

If you're in Australia, local streaming service Stan Sport provides live coverage of the Barcelona vs Manchester United live stream and all other UEFA club competition games.

To begin with, there's a Stan 30-day free trial. After that, you choose your base package and the necessary sport add-on costs AU$10 a month on top (so, from $20 a month in total).

Stuck outside Oz at the moment? Don't forget that you can use a VPN to access a live stream without being blocked.

Barcelona vs Manchester United live stream kick-off times

Global Barcelona vs Manchester United kick-off times

  • UK: 5.45pm
  • Central Europe: 6.45pm
  • USA (EST/PST): 12.45pm / 9.45am
  • Australia: 4.45am (Friday)
  • New Zealand: 6.45am (Friday)

Europa League knockout round play-off fixtures (first leg) – dates & TV times

All times 8pm GMT (UK time) unless otherwise stated

Thursday 16th February
Ajax vs FC Union Berlin 5.45pm
Barcelona vs Manchester United 5.45pm
FC Red Bull Salzburg vs Roma 5.45pm
Shakhtar Donetsk vs Rennes 5.45pm
Bayer 04 Leverkusen vs Monaco
Juventus vs Nantes
Sevilla vs PSV Eindhoven
Sporting Lisbon vs FC Midtjylland

Andy Murray
Contributor

Andy Murray is an award-winning sports writer and columnist. A fluent Spanish speaker and former semi-professional footballer, he was senior staff writer of world-leading football magazine FourFourTwo for seven years and continues to write and edit for them, national newspapers, websites and Premier League clubs. He is not a famous tennis player.