Barcelona have set up an unusual pre-season training camp at St George's Park in Staffordshire, opting for the Midlands over the long-haul tours favoured by many Premier League rivals. Manager Hansi Flick's squad will play two friendlies against Championship opposition, facing Birmingham City at St Andrew's on Friday and Preston North End behind closed doors at St George's Park the following Monday, with the World Cup schedule shaping both the venue choice and squad availability.

Eight World Cup winners, including Lamine Yamal, Pedri and Ferran Torres, remain on a break, while new signing Karim Adeyemi and a mix of senior players, Barcelona B and under-19 squad members make up the 30-man travelling party. Several senior internationals are also missing, among them England's Anthony Gordon after his £80m move from Newcastle, plus Brazil's Raphinha, France's Jules Kounde and Uruguay's Ronald Araujo. Notable inclusions are Frenkie de Jong, despite a knee injury sustained at the World Cup, and goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen, whose expected loan move to Ajax has yet to be finalised. Birmingham, who have promotion ambitions under chairman Tom Wagner and co-owner Tom Brady, had courted Barcelona for months, while the Catalan club previously used St George's Park in 2014 and 2016.