Paris Saint-Germain vs Barcelona Preview

After an attacking masterclass against Barcelona in February, Paris Saint Germain will welcome back the Spanish giants, hoping to complete the job and book a place in the semi-final of this years’ Champions League.

Kylian Mbappé’s hat-trick ensured that the Parisians headed back to the Parc des Princes with an impressive four-goal advantage. Their Champions league destiny now rests in their hands, and they are looking to ensure that there is no repeat of their 2017 capitulation that saw them surrender a three-goal lead against Barcelona in the Champions League.

Things have changed for both teams though with Neymar who led the route for Barca on that day now playing for PSG while Barca’s off-field struggles have affected on-field results.

PSG’s form also suggests that they will see this one out as they head into this tie with just one loss and eight wins from their last nine games in all competitions. In that period, Mauricio Pochettino’s men scored 20 goals while conceding just five goals and keeping six clean sheets.

Meanwhile, the Parisians have only failed to score once in their last 18 competitive matches and have averaged 4 goals per game across their last three UCL games.

Barcelona despite their struggles remain a team to fear on any given day. They may have struggled badly in recent seasons—especially in Europe—but in Lionel Messi, they have a player that can turn any tie on its head with a moment of magic.

The Argentine striker has rediscovered his deadly form and currently tops the La Liga scoring charts with 19 goals. He scored eight times in February and is leading Barca’s attack well along with Ousmane Dembele, who has rediscovered his form to score three times in his last two games.

Ronald Koeman’s side are unbeaten since that loss to PSG last month and are heading into this tie on a run of four consecutive wins in all competitions.

They will need to score three times without reply to qualify for the next round, and with a team like Barca, that remains a possibility despite PSG’s obvious attacking talent.