1. Barcelona’s possession play
Within the first few minutes, we will see how Manchester United intend to cope when they don't have the ball. It's always the key question against Barcelona: how do you stop them from bossing the game?
Well, the sobering answer is that you probably don't against this lot, at least in terms of enjoying more possession.
That said, a variety of tactics are open to opponents who want to make it hard for Pep Guardiola's side to settle into their rhythm.
Levante were the latest to offer an option when they pushed on to Barça's defenders whenever goalkeeper Victor Valdes had the ball.
It was a straightforward attempt to force Valdes to kick it long, thereby preventing Barça from building from the back.
So might we see Ji-Sung Park marking Dani Alves, Javier Hernandez and Wayne Rooney taking care of the two central defenders, with Antonio Valencia getting tight to the left-back? It would be an interesting plan.
But as Levante found out, it doesn't always work, because the centre-halves split to let Xavi come and get the ball.
2. How high should United push?
United must not fall into the trap that Arsenal did in the first half of their Champions League first-leg knockout game when they tried to squeeze Barça by playing a very high defensive line.
It's a good idea in principle but Arsène Wenger's defenders made the mistake of pushing up when there was no pressure on the ball, so allowing the visitors to pick holes in Arsenal's exposed back four.
This is where Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic come in. As two highly experienced centre-halves, they will dictate when to push up and when to drop off, depending on the situation.
Because if Michael Carrick, for instance, can't get close enough to Andres Iniesta who's in possession, this exquisite passer will have the time and space to lift his head and perhaps pick out a run from Pedro, or indeed Messi or David Villa.
Constant communication between Ferdinand, Vidic and their full-backs is therefore paramount. They've got to get it right, otherwise Barça are capable of running riot.
3. Get Little Pea into the action
It's all very well United making plans to stop Barcelona from playing, but Sir Alex Ferguson's side has got to strike a balance. They've got to find a way of getting in behind their opponents, causing a problem on the front foot.
You can be sure Guardiola will be wary of United's attacking threat anyway, particularly the great understanding between Rooney And Javier Hernández.
United must take advantage of that by counter-attacking quickly. On winning the ball back, the move must be sharp and incisive in order to catch Barça out of position.
We all know their full-backs love to get forward, so that might be an area for United to target. Let's imagine Ryan Giggs nicks the ball and feeds it to Rooney, who will look straight away for Chicharito's run.
That run, what's more, could be designed to exploit the space behind Dani Alves, who had joined in with the previous attack.
In those circumstances, I don't think either Javier Mascherano or Gerard Pique would fancy chasing the supersonic Hernandez.
And even if the Mexican doesn't get sight of goal, he has managed to turn Barça's back four around.
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