Champions League team news and prediction: PSG vs Barcelona

Paris Saint-Germain welcome Barcelona in the second leg of their round of 16 clash with a healthy advantage after drubbing the Spanish giants 4-1 on their own turf last month.

While a commanding position, PSG supporters know nothing is certain at this stage of the competition as far as their team is concerned. PSG have been here before, specifically with Barcelona, and suffered European heartache.

They thumped Barcelona 4-0 in the first leg of their last-16 meeting in 2016/17 only to go out after losing the second game 6-1, with Neymar pulling the strings for the Spanish side.

More recently, Manchester United knocked PSG out of the round of 16 in 2018/19 despite losing the first leg 2-0 at home. A sensational comeback saw United run out 3-1 winners at the Parc des Princes, courtesy of a controversial stoppage time penalty, to knock PSG out on away goals.

Ahead of such a tantilising match-up between PSG and Barcelona, we have all your need-to-know matchday information, including team news, probable XIs and where and when you can catch the game.

When is kick off?
Wednesday 10th March, 20:00 GMT
Where is the match?
Parc des Princes, Paris (France)
Where can I watch it?
BT Sport 3

First Leg Recap

The first leg actually started well for Barcelona, a Lionel Messi penalty gave the Spanish side the lead in the opening 30 minutes. But then the Kylian Mbappe show happened. Barcelona's lead lasted five minutes before Mbappe drew PSG level. He scored two more in the second half to celebrate his first ever appearance at Camp Nou with a hat-trick. Moise Kean also netted in the second half to cap of a superb comeback victory for PSG and give Mauricio Pochettino's side a 4-1 lead to protect for the second leg.

Team News

Neymar is still missing for Paris Saint-Germain in big blow for the home side, though they fared alright without him in the first leg. Moise Kean is also unavailable after recently testing positive for COVID-19 but Mauricio Pochettino has Angel Di Maria back from injury to deputise. Alessandro Florenzi is in the squad but is not 100 per cent fit and could be replaced at right-back by Thilo Kehrer on Wednesday night. No other real changes are expected by Pochettino.

Not that Gerard Pique's presence did much good in the first leg but the absence of their best centre-back is an obvious blow for Barcelona. Ronald Koeman is unlikely to trust Samuel Umtiti in a game of this magnitude, so Oscar Mingueza should get the nod alongside Clement Lenglet with Ronald Araujo still unavailable. Jordi Alba went off injured at the weekend but has made the trip and is expected to start. Sergino Dest had a nightmare up against Kylian Mbappe in the first leg but Koeman has few alternatives with Sergi Roberto injured.

Probable XIs:

 

PSG (4231): Navas; Kehrer, Marquinhos, Kimpembe, Kurzawa; Gueye, Paredes; Di Maria, Verratti, Mbappe; Icardi

Barcelona (433): Ter Stegen; Dest, Mingueza, Lenglet; Alba; De Jong, Busquets, Pedri; Dembele, Messi, Griezmann

Key Battle: Marco Verratti vs Frenkie de Jong

There has never been a question of Marco Verratti's quality, more so doubts over his ability to stay fit for prolonged periods. The 28-year-old wasn't even fully fit for the first leg but managed to turn in a superb position, occupying a more advanced role than we are typically used to seeing from the pint-sized midfielder. Across league and European competition this season, Verratti remarkably averages more than 110 passes pg 90, completing 92.3% of them and has a high dribble success rate of 85.2%.

After long being linked with a move for Verratti, Barcelona eventually closed that book and signed a younger model in Frenkie de Jong in 2019. The Netherlands international endured a tough first season in Spain but has certainly improved this term and there is a serious case he has been Barcelona's best player behind Lionel Messi. De Jong was initially signed as Sergio Busquets' long-term replacement but with the 32-year-old still going, De Jong has had to adapt his game. He has done that well this season and even chipped in with goals and assists, with eight goal contributions across league and European competition this season.

Scoreline Prediction: PSG 2-1 Barcelona