What to Expect from Neymar's Santos Reunion with Barcelona

On Sunday morning Neymar arrived in Barcelona, on Monday he began training and on Tuesday night he's expected to make his debut against Lechia Gdansk.

The Brazilian's inclusion is said to be compensation for the Polish side after the Catalans withdrew from the original friendly in the wake of the news that Tito Vilanova would relinquish his position as the club's manager.

But while Tuesday's match may offer the first opportunity to see Neymar and Lionel Messi playing together, Friday's Joan Gamper Trophy match against Santos presents the much more attractive tie.

Santos' participation in the fixture was confirmed as part of the deal which took the 21-year-old Brazilian international to Spain, with another friendly to be arranged between the two sides in Brazil at a later date.

And after around 56,000 fans turned up for Neymar's presentation at Camp Nou at the beginning of the summer, a healthy attendance is expected to witness his first outing in his new home.

It will be new manager Gerardo Martino's first match in charge of La Blaugrana too, the Argentinian working with the club's Spanish internationals, as well as Javier Mascherano and Dani Alves, this week rather than traveling to Poland.

The players, coaches and fans of Santos will know exactly what to expect from their former star man, but Friday's match presents a glimpse into how Neymar will work with his new colleagues—Mascherano has already admitted he does "not know him that well” yet, via football-espana.net.

Barca will presumably take the chance to field a variety of players, with the stronger 11 starting the game; This would presumably include Neymar starting on the left of the front three in a 4-3-3 formation.

Out of respect for his former side, and out of hard work for his new one, it's doubtful how much out of the ordinary Neymar, who was voted the best player at this summer's Confederations Cup, will try.

As much as it may be labeled a "glamour friendly," it's the beginning of a series of games which Tata has to get his side in order ahead of the visit of Levante in just over two weeks.

That should dictate that the match is not treated as a Harlem Globetrotters fixture.

The most interesting thing to watch out for will be Neymar's use of the ball. He is known for his tricks, his ability to beat a man and the joy he brings spectators—Barcelona are instead known for dazzling fans and opponents by letting the ball do the work.

Friday might be too early to tell, but Neymar's one-touch link-up play with the likes of Messi and Andres Iniesta could prove a real feature in the Barca side.

Muricy Ramalho, the former Santos manager, recently told Europa Press that “Neymar is a good kid, and he has a lot of respect for Messi,” which suggests that the Brazilian can handle spending time adjusting to life as a team player.

However, despite the expectation that he won't feature for the whole match, nor will he be overly flamboyant, it is definitely fair to imagine that Neymar will have at least one dynamic moment in store for his reunion with the club where he spent his whole career until now.