Barcelona Set Up Basel Friendly After Morocco U-Turn

Barcelona have moved quickly to plug a gap in their pre-season schedule, with a Basel friendly in Switzerland now close to confirmation for August 16. The fixture would replace the scrapped trip to Tangier, keeping Hansi Flick's side ticking over before the new LaLiga campaign.

According to Mundo Deportivo, talks between the two clubs are at an advanced stage, with the match pencilled in as a same-day round trip. It steps into the slot vacated when the Catalans called off the trip to Tangier, a decision taken amid the migration crisis in Ceuta and safety concerns around the original matchday.

Basel friendly offers Flick a real test

Basel, who play their football at St. Jakob-Park, are one of Swiss football's most familiar names and regular faces in European competition. For Flick's champions, the trip promises another competitive workout as fitness and rhythm are built ahead of the new season.

Before Switzerland, attention turns to Saturday's triangular in Udine against Nottingham Forest and Udinese. With the LaLiga title defence fast approaching, a Basel friendly would hand the Blaugrana one last high-quality dress rehearsal on the road.