Barcelona will face Birmingham City in a pre-season friendly in the West Midlands next month. The LaLiga team will visit St Andrew's on Friday, July 31, with a 7.45pm kickoff. Barcelona, who have teenage striker Lamine Yamal, are the current Spanish champions, having finished last season eight points clear of Real Madrid. Jeremy Dale, Birmingham's chief executive, said the club is delighted to welcome Barcelona to St Andrew's. Dale described Barcelona as a football powerhouse and said they have chosen to start their pre-season with Birmingham. And the match reflects Birmingham's ambition and the progress being made throughout the club. So the football world in general is taking notice. Barcelona has a global following, and the reach of Birmingham's international streaming service means that the attention of the whole world will be on St Andrew's for the match. The match will be an exciting challenge for both teams. But Barcelona is ready to face the challenge. The team has been working hard in pre-season and is eager to face a team like Birmingham. The match will be a good indicator of Barcelona's form before the new campaign.