The French champions scrap with the Spanish champions for the right to earn a first-leg advantage in their Champions League quarter-final, as Paris Saint-Germain welcome Barcelona to their Parc des Princes base on Wednesday.
Luis Enrique reunites with his former employers on the back of masterminding a 4-1 aggregate last-16 win over Real Sociedad, while La Blaugrana were 4-2 victors over Italian champions Napoli.
Match preview
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Nine years on from hoisting the famous European crown aloft with Barcelona, Enrique is potentially just five games away from finally ending PSG's excruciating Champions League hoodoo, while also offering Kylian Mbappe the best kind of parting gift in the process.
A last-16 affair with Real Sociedad was not expected to pose too many problems for Les Parisiens, and true enough, Enrique's team strolled to a pair of 2-0 and 2-1 successes over Imanol Alguacil's troops, with Mbappe scoring three of PSG's four strikes across the two legs.
However, after being forced to bat away repeated questions regarding his early withdrawals of the Real Madrid-bound attacker, Enrique added more petrol to the fire by benching him for the weekend's top-versus-bottom Ligue 1 showdown with Clermont, who miraculously led until the 85th minute at the Parc des Princes before Goncalo Ramos saved the day.
Despite failing to beat the worst team that the French top flight has to offer, PSG already boast champions-elect status - sitting 10 points clear at the top with six games left to play - and Ramos's late leveller over the weekend stretched the hosts' stellar unbeaten run in all tournaments to 27 matches.
Les Parisiens' most recent defeat came in a Champions League trip to AC Milan back in November, though, and little more needs to be said about the hosts' penchant for catastrophic European collapses, one of which Enrique oversaw as Barcelona manager seven seasons ago.
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La Blaugrana's unbelievable 6-1 pummelling of PSG in 2016-17 would not precede Champions League stardom for the Catalonian giants, though, but the visitors now return to the promised land of the quarter-finals for the first time since the coronavirus-ravaged 2019-20 season.
On that occasion, Bayern Munich memorably dismantled their La Liga counterparts in an 8-2 romping, but Barcelona make the relatively short trip to Paris with the wind in their sails, and all it took was head coach Xavi announcing his decision to step down at the end of the season.
Since dropping his resignation bombshell after a 5-3 loss to Villarreal in January, Xavi has presided over an 11-game unbeaten streak across all competitions, a sequence which includes an emphatic 3-1 home beating of Napoli in the second leg of their last-16 tie following a 1-1 draw on Italian soil.
That success over the Partenopei marked the second of four straight wins for the La Liga champions ahead of Wednesday's trip to Paris, as Barca have overcome Mallorca, Atletico Madrid and Las Palmas in each of their last three Spanish top-flight contests, keeping three clean sheets to boot.
An eight-point gap to leaders Real Madrid with eight games to go may be insurmountable for Barcelona to make up, but PSG know all too well that the Blaugrana have previous when it comes to spectacular turnarounds. However, their two-legged last-16 affair in 2020-21 ended with the French heavyweights ruining Lionel Messi's farewell in a 5-2 aggregate romping; Barcelona can now obtain the best possible revenge by inflicting the same treatment on Real Madrid-bound Mbappe.
Team News
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The bulk of PSG's senior stars are in good nick ahead of Wednesday's opening encounter, where Mbappe will be one of a handful of marquee names to return to the first XI; a list which also ought to include ex-Barca attacker Ousmane Dembele and fit-again captain Marquinhos.
Lucas Hernandez, Warren Zaire-Emery, Bradley Barcola and Nuno Mendes ought to reinforce the hosts' squad after being rested at the weekend too, but Presnel Kimpembe (Achilles), Layvin Kurzawa (back) and Sergio Rico (head trauma) are all out.
Furthermore, Achraf Hakimi's absence through suspension is particularly problematic after Nordi Mukiele came off with a head injury against Clermont, so Zaire-Emery might be required to step in to the backline on Wednesday.
Zaire-Emery's potential inclusion in defence could see Lee Kang-in, Manuel Ugarte and Vitinha all handed starts in a midfield triumvirate, while both Mbappe and Dembele are set to be joined in attack by Ramos, who has scored in each of his last two appearances.
While Barcelona have a whopping seven players at risk of missing the second leg if they enter the referee's book, none of Xavi's troops is banned for the opening fixture, meaning that the former Champions League-winning midfielder only has a quintet of fitness concerns to work around.
Gavi (ACL) and Alejandro Balde (hamstring) are definitely out, but Pedri (thigh), Andreas Christensen (Achilles) and Frenkie de Jong (ankle) have been able to train with the team over the past few days, so all three are in with a chance of making their comebacks in the French capital.
De Jong is thought to have the best chance of receiving the green light from the medical team, while Xavi should have no qualms about starting talented teenage duo Pau Cubarsi and Lamine Yamal either.
Fermin Lopez has found the net in two of his last three appearances and could retain his place in midfield, while Robert Lewandowski, who scored in both legs of Barca's last-16 win over Napoli, is expected to lead the line.
Paris Saint-Germain possible starting lineup:
Donnarumma; Zaire-Emery, Marquinhos, Skriniar, Mendes; Lee, Ugarte, Vitinha; Dembele, Ramos, Mbappe
Barcelona possible starting lineup:
Ter Stegen; Kounde, Cubarsi, Araujo, Cancelo; De Jong, Gundogan, Lopez; Yamal, Lewandowski, Raphinha
We say: Paris Saint-Germain 1-1 Barcelona
Since Barcelona last took to the field at the end of March, PSG have endured two gruelling clashes in the Coupe de France and Ligue 1, so there is no question who the fresher legs will belong to at the Parc des Princes.
However, Parisiens boss Enrique rested several key names for the clash with Clermont with Wednesday's reunion in mind, and taking into account Barcelona's recent affinity for dogged defensive displays, we expect Wednesday's tense tussle to end all square ahead of a tantalising second leg in Catalonia.
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Ben Knapton
