Tuesday is Paris Saint-Germain vs. Barcelona at Parc des Princes, the opening leg of the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League. The current head coach of Paris, Luis Enrique, who managed the Remontada in this match back in 2017, will take against old colleague Xavi in a match that promises to be a tactical maze constructed at La Masia. Nine years after the Blaugrana’s previous UCL victory, which was captained by Luis Enrique, Barca defeated Napoli 4-2 over two legs, while PSG defeated Real Sociedad 4-1 on aggregate in the round of 16.
Les Parisiens, who realize this is probably their last opportunity to win the Champions League with Kylian Mbappe before his anticipated summer departure to Real Madrid, will be vying for a quarterfinal spot. Three of PSG’s four goals versus Sociedad came from the French sensation, who is also dominating the Ligue 1 scoring table. The French champions lead the league by ten points after 27 games played in all competitions.
When these two teams last faced off in 2021, PSG easily defeated Barca 5-2 on aggregate, with Kylian Mbappe standing out against Lionel Messi prior to the illustrious Argentina international joining the French capital team. However, since they were destroyed 8-2 by Bayern Munich, this is the first time the Catalans have advanced to the UCL quarterfinals, as Xavi leads his team to an 11-game winning run in all competitions.
These are our plots, along with information on how to watch the game.
How to observe and the odds
• Today, Wednesday, April 10 Time: 3:30 PM Eastern Time
• Address: Paris, France’s Parc des Princes
• See: Paramount+
• PSG -105, Draw +280, Barca +250 are the odds.
Team updates
PSG: Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele, and captain Marquinhos are anticipated to return to the starting lineup. Presnel Kimpembe is still out for the foreseeable future, but Lucas Hernandez, Warren Zaire-Emery, Bradley Barcola, and Nuno Mendes should all be prepared to start for Luis Enrique. Due to Achraf Hakimi’s suspension and Nordi Mukiele’s injury against Clermont, Zaire-Emery or Marquinhos may need to fill in at right back.
Possible starting lineup for PSG: Donnarumma; Dembele, Ramos, Mbappe; Lee, Ugarte, Vitinha; Zaire-Emery, Marquinhos, Skriniar, Mendes.
Barca: None of Xavi’s players are out with a ban, but seven of them run the chance of being suspended for the second leg. Pedri, Andreas Christensen, and Frenkie de Jong may be able to make a comeback to the starting lineup despite the injuries to Gavi and Alejandro Balde. De Jong is most likely to make a comeback, but Xavi is probably not going to hold back when it comes to Pau Cubarsi or Lamine Yamal.
Possible Barcelona starting lineup: Ter Stegen; De Jong, Gundogan, Lopez; Yamal, Lewandowski, Raphinha; Kounde, Cubarsi, Araujo, Cancelo.
Forecast
Both teams have strong recent records, so this one should be close. However, PSG has a longer history, and home field advantage should help them grab an early lead. It seems improbable that this will end after 90 minutes, even if Barca manages to tie.
Pick: Barcelona 1, PSG 2.
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