Preview:Daegu vs Barcelona - prediction, team news, lineups

Barcelona will be looking to post a third straight victory on their pre-season tour of Asia when they take on South Korean outfit Daegu at Daegu Stadium on Monday.

The La Liga champions will enter the match off the back of a 7-3 victory over FC Seoul, while Daegu were last in K League 1 action on July 27, suffering a 1-0 defeat to Pohang Steelers.

Match preview

Daegu have only been in existence since 2002, but the majority of their time has been spent in South Korea's top division, last playing outside of K League 1 in 2016.

Park Chang-hyun's side finished third in the top flight in 2021, but they have been eighth, sixth and 11th in their last three seasons, while it has been a tough 2025 campaign to date for the club.

Indeed, Daegu have a record of three wins, five draws and 16 defeats from their 24 league matches this season, with 14 points leaving them rock bottom of the table, 11 points behind 11th-placed Suwon FC.

The hosts have lost their last three league matches, while they are without a victory in any competition since the middle of May, demonstrating the size of their task against Barcelona on Monday.

FC Seoul are fourth in K League 1 but conceded seven times against Barcelona last time out, so it could be a difficult clash for Daegu, although it will be a lucrative contest for Chang-hyun's team.

Barcelona started their preparations for the 2025-26 campaign with a 3-1 success over Vissel Kobe on July 27, before recording a 7-3 victory over FC Seoul last time out to make it two wins from their two tour matches this summer.

Hansi Flick's side will be expecting to put another victory on the board here before returning to Spain for the Joan Gamper Trophy fixture against Como on August 10.

Barcelona's 2025-26 La Liga season will then begin against Mallorca on August 16, and they will be the favourites for the title considering their performance level last term, but it is set to be a fascinating battle with a Real Madrid side that will be determined to reclaim the trophy in the coming season.

The Catalan giants have boosted their squad with two arrivals this summer, bringing in Joan Garcia as their new number one goalkeeper, while Marcus Rashford has arrived on loan from Manchester United.

Barcelona president Joan Laporta has claimed that the club's transfer business, at least in terms of incomings, is complete, but a couple more exits could make space for another player to arrive before the end of the transfer window.

Daegu form (all competitions):

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Barcelona pre-season form:

Team News

Daegu will be missing Hong Jeong-un, Kim Jeong-hyun and Park Dae-hun for the contest due to injury problems, but the home side are otherwise in strong shape for the pre-season clash.

Cesinha has been their most productive player in the final third of the field this season, finding the back of the net on six occasions in 14 appearances, and he will be in the starting side here.

There is also set to be a spot in the side for Bruno Lamas, who has four goals to his name this term.

As for Barcelona, no fresh issues have been reported from their clash with FC Seoul, and Flick is expected to name a strong starting side before making changes throughout the match.

Lamine Yamal scored twice in the first half last time out and will again be in the XI, while Raphinha, Dani Olmo and Robert Lewandowski are also set for spots in the final third of the field.

Rashford has featured twice off the bench since his arrival on loan from Manchester United, and it is expected that the Englishman will again be used as a substitute in this match.

Inigo Martinez was not involved against FC Seoul due to muscular fatigue, but the experienced centre-back could be handed a spot in the starting side on Monday.

Daegu possible starting lineup:

Oh; Woo, Kim Jin-hyuk, Jo, Jeong; Lee, Lamas, Han, Jeong; Cesinha, Kim Ju-gong

Barcelona possible starting lineup:

J Garcia; Kounde, Cubarsi, I Martinez, Balde; Pedri, De Jong; Yamal, Olmo, Raphinha; Lewandowski

We say: Daegu 1-5 Barcelona

This will be a special match for Daegu, but we are finding it very difficult to back them to pick up a positive result; Barcelona scored seven against FC Seoul last time out, and we are expecting the Catalan outfit to once again be full of goals in their third pre-season fixture of the summer.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.