WELSH warhorse Mark Hughes has called on his Ewood team-mates to show their Premiership class ahead of their showdown with Barcelona on Sunday.

Graeme Souness's promotion heroes wind up their pre-season preparations with an eye-catching friendly against the Catalan giants.

And former Barca striker Hughes believes it's the perfect chance for Rovers to test their credentials against the cream of Europe.

"Barcelona have got some great players and it's going to be interesting to see exactly how we measure up," said Hughes.

"I know all the players were delighted when they saw the club had organsied this game.

"And it's a great opportunity for us to show just how far we've come in the last 12 months.

"There's no doubt about it, Barcelona are one of the biggest and best clubs in the world and we are going to have to raise our games if we want to get a result."

With Barca promising to bring their full first team squad, Ewood officials are expecting a 'gate' in excess of 20,000.

However, Brazilian ace Rivaldo was not in the party which travelled to England today.

And injured quartet Dani, Abelardo, Alfonso and Gerard Lopez are also expected to be missing after failing to feature in their Champions League game earlier this week.

Meanwhile, Hughes today called on the rest of the Premiership to give Manchester United a run for their money as the countdown to the new season begins.

The Reds are odds-on to retain their crown in the wake of Sir Alex Ferguson's stunning summer transfer swoops having paid £50 million duo Juan Veron and Ruud van Nistelrooy.

But Hughes does not subscribe to the bookies' view that the title race is a foregone conclusion before a ball has been kicked.

"The fact they've spent that money should make the rest of the league all the more determined to try and compete with them," said Hughes.

"There's no point giving it up before the season has even started.

"Okay, they've got a couple of new players coming in but it could take time for them to settle in.

"So it's far from cut and dried before a ball has even been kicked."

Hughes will get a quick chance to put that theory to the test when United visit Ewood in the opening week of the new season.

But, far from running scared, the Welsh boss insists Rovers couldn't have picked a better time to play the champions.

And, despite the fact he still retains a lot of affection for the Reds, that won't stop him from trying to get one over on his old boss.

"For the first home game, it's the perfect start, really, especially for the fans," said Hughes.

"But I also believe it's probably a good time to play them, too.

"When you're a newly promoted side you want to play all the big sides as early as possible because, once the season gets going, everyone settles down and it becomes a lot more difficult to get a result off sides like United."

FANS are reminded that tickets for Sunday's game will be on sale right up to kick-off.

The Ewood ticket office is open from 9am to 4pm tomorrow and from 9am to kick-off on Sunday.

Tickets for the Darwen End ONLY will be on sale on the day (prices £15 for adults and £5 for juniors).

But adults purchasing tickets in advance can also buy a junior ticket for a fiver and get another one free.