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Following the disappointment of Wednesday's 0-1 defeat against SSC Napoli, FC Barcelona will be looking to get their preseason campaign back on track this afternoon as they take on HJK Helsinki at the Olympic Stadium in Finland. Despite returning to training at the start of last week, the Blaugrana will still be without star striker, Lionel Messi and his Argentine international teammate, Javier Mascherano, while Brazil stars Dani Alves and Neymar continue to miss out through injury.
However, in spite of the relatively inexperienced squad, Luis Enrique's side remain heavy favourites to pick up the win against a HJK side that crashed out of the UEFA Champions League this week in the third qualifying round against Cypriot champions APOEL Nicosia. The only advantage HJK may have over their illustrious opponents is match fitness; the Finnish champions are deep into their latest league campaign and therefore may be better prepared for the 90 minutes tonight.
On the other hand, with just two friendlies remaining prior to the start of the La Liga season, the Blaugrana will ideally be hoping to compete throughout the 90 minutes once again, although if the Napoli match is any indication, we are a little way off from that just yet. Will this young squad peppered with new signings and experienced heads be able to emerge victorious on enemy soil? Or will HJK pull off a shock result and either hold or defeat the mighty FC Barcelona?
Predict the score of tonight's match by commenting with your prediction below. Best of luck!
