The Red Devils hold a commanding 2-0 lead from the first leg of their UEFA Champions League semi-final and know a final berth is theirs for the taking.
Barca await the victors in European football's showpiece event, with the Catalan giants having disposed of arch-rivals Real Madrid in their last-four encounter.
United appear to hold all the cards heading into their meeting with Schalke, with their record at Old Trafford this season almost faultless.
They have not tasted defeat on home soil since April 2010 and have won three and drawn two of their five fixtures at the Theatre of Dreams in this season's Champions League.
They are gracing the semi-finals of the European Cup for the 12th time and have never slipped up at this stage after establishing a first-leg advantage away from home.
The one crumb of comfort for Schalke will be that Sir Alex Ferguson's side came unstuck against Arsenal on Sunday in the Premier League and now face a make-or-break conclusion to the 2010/11 campaign.
The German outfit hardly arrive in the best of form themselves, with a crushing 4-1 domestic defeat to Bayern Munich over the weekend doing little for their confidence.
Schalke also head to Old Trafford in the knowledge that they have never won on English soil, with one draw and three defeats suffered on their four previous trips.
They are, however, unbeaten on their travels in Europe since going down 1-0 at Lyon on Matchday One and smashed five goals past reigning champions Inter Milan on their last continental away day.