A confident-looking Barcelona side will be playing host to Ligue 1’s Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday evening at the Camp Nou Stadium. This first-leg fixture will see the two teams lock horns once again to seal a berth in the Quarter-Final stages of the competition. Interestingly, Paris Saint-Germain has never been able to get the better of their Catalan counterparts in a knockout fixture and will be seeking to change this fact on Tuesday. Barcelona up against Paris Saint-Germain is the most sought after game on this Matchday of the UEFA Champions League and The 4th Official provides you with a detailed preview for this clash –
Team News
Barcelona
Barcelona have been dealing with injuries all season long and a real test of their depth as a side will be taken on Tuesday evening at the Camp Nou Stadium. Ronald Koeman’s side will be missing the services of seven first-team players. The likes of Gerard Pique, Ansu Fati and Philippe Coutinho are all ruled out of contention for the game. Sergi Roberto, Martin Braithwaite, Ronald Araujo and Moussa Wague, will also join the trio on the sidelines leaving Ronald Koeman with a marginalised and reduced squad for this crunch fixture.
Predicted XI – Ter Stegen, Dest, Mingueza, Lenglet, Alba, De Jong, Busquets, Pedri, Dembele, Messi, Griezmann
Paris Saint-Germain
The Parisians are hit hard on the injury front as well with as many as five injuries to the team. One of the massive disappointments for PSG in the build-up to this fixture would be the injury picked up by Neymar. The Brazilian picked up an adductor problem a couple of nights ago and is expected to be out on the sidelines for at least a month. Additionally, Angel di Maria, Juan Bernat, Colin Dagba and Timothée Pembélé are ruled out of contention for the fixture due to injuries.
Predicted XI – Navas, Florenzi, Marquinhos, Kimpembe, Kurzawa, Gueye, Paredes, Verratti, Draxler, Icardi, Mbappe
Barcelona Vs Paris Saint-Germain Tactical Preview
Barcelona Vs Paris Saint-Germain Tactical Preview
Talking Tactics
Barcelona
The Cules will be wanting to stick to the basics for a fixture of this magnitude. The defensive vulnerability of Barcelona this season has been highlighted on several instances and Ronald Koeman would want to address this problem tactically on Tuesday. It will not be a surprise if Barcelona are happy with PSG enjoying more of the ball in the opening few exchanges so that they can get their defensive shape and rhythm going smoothly. Barcelona will want to weave magic from midfield and Lionel Messi could be seen in deeper positions as the game progresses.
Paris Saint-Germain
The appointment of Mauricio Pochettino has certainly changed things at the French capital. The Parisians head into this fixture as the absolute favourites following their run until the Final of the UEFA Champions League last season. The trio of Icardi, Draxler and Mbappe would be poised to run riot on Barcelona’s defence and their pace and skill could be too much to handle for a fragile-looking Barcelona defence on the night. The injury to Neymar has certainly affected PSG but they are not just a one-man show.
Key Men
Barcelona
Lionel Messi will be leading the Barcelona team and all expectations will be rested on him as it has happened in the past. The team are definitely physiologically affected after the recent embarrassments in the competition against Liverpool, AS Roma and Bayern Munich, thus making it even more important for Messi to keep his nerve. The Argentine is in sizzling form recently with two goals against Deportivo Alaves and he looks set to take on a dilapidated looking Paris Saint-Germain.
Paris Saint-Germain
Kylian Mbappe would be Mauricio Pochettino’s most crucial man upfront. Mbappe has delivered on this stage of the competition earlier as well with PSG and AS Monaco and is well versed with the amount of pressure that he would be dealing with. Mbappe would be well aware of the fact that Barcelona have evident cracks in their back-line and Frenchman would want to exploit this area of the pitch with his pace and agility. The World Cup winner is going to cause all sorts of problem to Barcelona on Tuesday evening.
