Milan vs. Barcelona: 2018 ICC Time, TV Schedule and Live Stream
August 3, 2018
Barcelona and AC Milan will conclude their 2018 International Champions Cup campaigns at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California on Saturday.
Neither team has won an ICC game in 90 minutes this summer, although Barca did claim a penalty-shootout win over Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday. Milan's only point came from a shootout loss to Manchester United.
Both teams have travelled to California on the back of defeats but will look to end their tours on a high. Barcelona suffered a 4-2 loss at the hands of AS Roma on Tuesday, the same day Milan fell 1-0 to Spurs in Minnesota.
Both teams have made a number of big moves in the transfer market this summer, but a win will be a particular boost for Milan in their final pre-season game.
Read on for a preview of Saturday's ICC encounter between two of Europe's most decorated outfits, complete with fixture information and live-stream details.
Date: Saturday, August 4
Time: 8:05 p.m. ET/1:05 a.m. BST (Sunday, Aug. 5)
Venue: Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara, California
Live Stream: Premier Sports (UK), WatchESPN (U.S.)
TV Info: Premier Sports (UK), ESPN Deportes (U.S.)
Preview
Barcelona boss Ernesto Valverde has been fortunate to be able to hand all his major arrivals valuable playing time in their pre-season schedule, yielding positives to consider in the absence of winning results in the United States.
Arthur scored a superb goal on debut against Tottenham, centre-back Clement Lenglet is settling in defence, and Malcom rewarded the manager for his first start against Roma:
Despite the fact the Brazilian's goal came in a defeat, Milan will be wary of the obvious talent emerging among the opposition ranks.
Davide Calabria looks likely to be the man tasked with slowing Malcom's momentum. The Italy under-21 international has played every minute of Milan's ICC games ahead of Ricardo Rodriguez and before new signing Ivan Strinic returns from his post-2018 FIFA World Cup break.
Arthur, 21, already looks to be en route to justifying his place among Barca's best, and Valverde has spoken positively of Malcom's progress, a rise that could even oust Ousmane Dembele from the XI, via Goal:
Milan have had major transfer news of their own after a deal was agreed to send central defender Leonardo Bonucci back to Juventus, with Gonzalo Higuain arriving at the San Siro on loan, per BBC Sport.
Calciomercato.com confirmed Mattia Caldara, 24, was also signing for Milan from the Bianconeri, a piece of business that blogger Liam Canning thought was savvy:
Unfortunately, neither Higuain nor Caldara will be in the U.S. to have an impact against Barcelona, where manager Gennaro Gattuso will attempt to lift his troops' spirits despite the uncertainty surrounding his own position.
There are reports former Juventus and Italy manager Antonio Conte is being lined up to replace him once he finalises a contract dispute with Chelsea, but Gattuso has said he's just carrying on as normal, per Calciomercato: "I heard that every day there is talk that I lose my job. What matters is giving one's best, then the decision will be made by whoever represents the club."
The Rossoneri looked to have improved under Gattuso after he replaced Vincenzo Montella midway through last season, and ESPN's David Amoyal backed the incumbent to keep his place at the San Siro:
Pre-season or not, a win over Barcelona would help Gattuso in that regard and perhaps gives him something extra to fight for in Santa Clara.
Milan could use Higuain's goals now, considering they've only scored once in their last 180 pre-season minutes, but their spirits may be lifted ahead of the game against a Barcelona defence that conceded four to Roma in midweek.