Barcelona’s first away trip of pre-season takes them directly to the home of the English champions.
Pere Romeu’s side face Manchester City at the Joie Stadium on Saturday 15 August. Both teams have played only one friendly, but they also arrive after winning six trophies between them last season.
Barcelona won all four trophies available to them: Liga F, the Champions League, the Copa de la Reina and the Spanish Super Cup. City were crowned Women’s Super League and FA Cup champions.
When is Manchester City v Barcelona?
The match kicks off at 17:00 CEST —16:00 in the United Kingdom— at the Joie Stadium in Manchester.
Viewers in Spain can watch through Barça Play or the club’s official YouTube channel, although both options require a subscription.
Barcelona members have Barça Play included among their benefits. Other viewers need a Culers Premium subscription or membership of the Premium package on the club’s YouTube channel. Barcelona have said their broadcast will only be available in Spain.
Manchester City will also show the match through CITY+, the club’s subscription platform. CITY+ costs £9.99 per month or £34.99 for an annual subscription.
No free broadcast has been announced.
- Match: Manchester City v Barcelona
- Date: Saturday 15 August 2026
- Kick-off: 17:00 CEST
- Stadium: Joie Stadium, Manchester
- TV and streaming: Barça Play, Barcelona’s YouTube channel for Premium members and CITY+
Barcelona began with a win and used 22 players
Barcelona opened their pre-season on Wednesday with a 3-1 victory over Montpellier at the Estadi Johan Cruyff.
Patri Guijarro scored the first goal of the campaign before half-time. Montpellier equalised shortly after the restart by capitalising on a mistake in Barcelona’s build-up, but Clàudia Pina restored the lead four minutes later.
The third came from Mayssa Baha. The 15-year-old academy forward finished a move created by Caroline Graham Hansen in the 86th minute.
Pere Romeu distributed the minutes among 22 players. Only Ewa Pajor and Esmee Brugts played more than 60 minutes. Veerle van Asten, Sydney McCamey and Kerolin made their debuts, while Martina Fernández made her first appearance since returning to the squad.
The trip to Manchester will increase the workload against considerably stronger opposition and show how many opportunities the younger players continue to receive as the level rises.
Kerolin misses out on reunion with former club
Kerolin came on in the 77th minute against Montpellier and played the final 13 minutes, completing her Barcelona debut after signing a contract through June 2030.
Her second appearance will not come against Manchester City. The Brazilian forward is not among the 25 players named in the travelling squad, so a reunion with her former club will have to wait. Barcelona have not explained her absence.
Kerolin was officially presented as a Barcelona player on 5 August and would have returned to the Joie Stadium only ten days later. The friendly would have come too early to provide any definitive conclusions, but it would have offered the first chance to see her face former team-mates and defenders who know her game.
She can operate anywhere across the forward line. Another match will have to provide the first clues about where Pere Romeu intends to use her and how she might combine with Pajor, Pina and Barcelona’s other attackers.
City equalised in the 88th minute of their first friendly
Manchester City have also played only one pre-season friendly. They drew 1-1 with Fiorentina last Saturday after trailing into the closing minutes.
Lauren Hemp equalised in the 88th minute. Andrée Jeglertz’s side had earlier hit the crossbar through Alex Greenwood and replaced all 11 members of their starting line-up before the end.
Bunny Shaw, Yui Hasegawa, Aoba Fujino and Mary Fowler all started City’s first friendly. Niamh Charles, who joined from Chelsea this summer, made her first appearance during the second half.
City also used several academy players and welcomed Mayzee Davies back after a knee injury. Like Barcelona, they are still distributing minutes and testing different combinations.
The most recent meeting in Manchester ended 2-0
Barcelona have lost at the Joie Stadium before.
Manchester City beat them 2-0 there during the 2024/25 Champions League group stage. Naomi Layzell and Bunny Shaw scored in front of 5,508 spectators, a record crowd for City’s women’s team at the stadium.
Barcelona responded by winning the reverse fixture 3-0. Both teams finished on 15 points, with the Catalan side taking first place in the group on goal difference.
Almost two years have passed and the context is different, but that remains the most recent meeting between the teams in Manchester.
Saturday’s result will not award points or decide anything. It will provide a measure of two squads still working through their preparations and offer an early look at several players expected to alter the shape of both teams.
After visiting City, Barcelona return to the Estadi Johan Cruyff to face Brighton in the Joan Gamper Trophy on Friday 21 August. The next match currently listed on Manchester City’s calendar is their opening league fixture against Birmingham City on 5 September.
