Barcelona vs Paris Saint-Germain Preview

The Champions League resumes this week with Barcelona hosting Paris Saint-Germain in the second leg of their quarter-final tie.

The Blaugrana took the initiative in the first leg beating their French opponents 3-2 at the Parc des Princes thanks to goals from Raphinha and Andreas Christensen making the difference on the night. The win gives the Catalan giants the springboard on which they can launch their quest for their first Champions League semi-final appearance since 2018/19

That result also affords the hosts the luxury of knowing a draw will be enough to seal progression. They should be confident of advancing with a positive record on home soil against French opposition (W9, D2, L2). But if there’s anything that will plant a seed of doubt in their minds, it’s the fact they lost their last home outing against Ligue 1 opposition 4-1 against none other than PSG. This means this tie might be far from over despite the fact Barca have progressed in 37 out of the 39 times they won the first leg away in competition.

Meanwhile, Paris Saint-Germain will be desperate to return to winning ways when they travel to the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys on Tuesday. The French side are in danger of exiting the Champions League at the hands of a Spanish team for the second season in a row after losing to Real Madrid at this stage last season.

Luis Enrique’s side have a poor away record against Spanish opposition with nine losses in 18 UCL games (D3, L9). Overall, it’s probably hard to make an argument for that loss tally not hitting double figures here, especially as PSG have gone on to lose the away leg in all seven competition ties in which they lost the first leg at home. However, for a team with a talent like Kylian Mbappe, PSG cannot be counted out.