Barcelona are set to take on Preston North End in a second pre-season friendly during a planned trip to England this summer.
Cadena SER report that Barcelona have chosen Preston as their second English opponents after Birmingham City.
Preston North End chosen chosen
The website reports that Barcelona are due to leave for England on Monday, 27th July. They’re set for a short training camp at England’s St George’s Park training facility.
Sport Witness reported on this earlier in the summer, when they confirmed a pre-season friendly with Birmingham City had been planned. That’s due to take place on Friday 31st July.
Now a second pre-season fixture has been confirmed. The Catalan giants will take on Preston North End on Monday 3rd August. They will then return to Barcelona after that game.
Unfortunately for Preston fans, the game is due to take place behind closed doors. So, there will be no opportunity to see Barcelona’s superstars on this occasion.
World Cup issues
The game, instead, has been planned as Barcelona try to work around the World Cup. The Catalans have several absences in their squad.
They are still waiting to see when they will Jules Koundé and new signing Anthony Gordon back at their disposal, for example. There’s also several of their players in Spain’s squad.
They’ve already seen their first game of the La Liga season delayed by a week because of this. That’s due to an agreed protocol between La Liga and the Spanish AFE. That guarantees three weeks of vacation and three weeks of preparation for player after their participation in the World Cup.
Javier Tebas had already made it clear that any team with at least one player present in the semifinals of the World Cup would have automatically postponed the first day of the League to respect the rest deadlines established in the collective agreement.
As Barcelona are one of the sides with the most players at the World Cup, they’ve been affected more than others. That’s led to specific pre-season plans, which now include a behind closed doors friendly against Preston.
Key points on Barcelona friendly
Barcelona
Set to face Preston North End on Friday 31st July
Part of training camp at St George’s Park
Barcelona facing difficult pre-season due to World Cup
Players such as Raphinha, Frenkie De Jong and Ronald Araujo should be available
The big disappointment is it’s behind closed doors
🇪🇸 From Spain: Birmingham City boost as Barcelona stars set to be in squad for friendly https://t.co/pr2ODZgz2i #bcfc
— Sport Witness (@Sport_Witness) July 7, 2026