Paris Saint-Germain vs Barcelona LIVE commentary: Enrique meets former club in Champions League blockbuster – kick-off time, team news and talkSPORT coverage
Paris Saint-Germain will meet Barcelona in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final this evening, live on talkSPORT 2.
The French champions saw off Real Sociedad to reach the last eight after winning 4-1 on aggregate over the two legs.
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PSG will be aiming to go all the way this seasonCredit: AFPLuis Enrique’s side now take on another Spanish outfit in Barca who beat Napoli 4-2 in the round of 16 to remain in Europe.
Xavi will be eyeing success outside of La Liga with his men well behind bitter rivals Real Madrid in the domestic title race.
Paris Saint-Germain vs Barcelona: Historic match-upThis quarter-final tie will remind fans of a Champions League classic.
The two teams met in 2017 when Enrique was in charge of Barcelona against PSG.
READ MORE ON CHAMPIONS LEAGUEAfter the first leg, in which the French side easily won 4-0, it seemed the tie was already over before the return clash.
However, a miracle followed and it was masterminded by the now PSG manager.
Barca were 5-3 down on aggregate heading into the final two minutes of the tie and looked destined to be exiting the competition despite a spirited display.
But two goals from Neymar before an incredible 95th-minute winner from Sergi Roberto led to one of the greatest comebacks in the history of the competition.
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Roberto’s goal has gone down in Champions League history
One of the only three instances of Barcelona losing by four goals away from home in the European Cup/UEFA Champions League came against Paris Saint-Germain in February 2017 (also 4-0 defeats to Liverpool in May 2019 and FC Bayern München in April 2013).
Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona will meet in the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League in a sixth different season; only Real Madrid vs. Bayern Munich
PSG’s only confirmed absentees for the quarter-final are Presnel Kimpembe who is injured and Achraf Hakimi who is suspended.
Bradley Barcola is expected to be back in the squad and he could join Kylian Mbappe, and former Barca winger Ousmane Dembele in the front line.
As for Barcelona, Frenkie de Jong and Pedri are out injured.
That means former Chelsea man Andreas Christensen is likely to play at the base of midfield alongside Ilkay Gundogan.
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Gundogan is aiming to win back-to-back Champions LeaguesCredit: GettyDanny Murphy tells Barcelona to hire Lionel Messi as manager to replace Xavi at the end of the La Liga season
Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona have met 12 times previously in the UEFA Champions League, with the head-to-head record perfectly balanced at four wins each and four draws.
This will be Barcelona’s first game in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League since August 2020, when they suffered their heaviest ever defeat in European competition (8-2 v FC Bayern München). They’ve only progressed from the quarter-finals in one of their last five attempts (2018-19 v Manchester United).
Paris Saint-Germain vs Barcelona: What has been said? Enrique will lead his PSG team out against his former club this week and he has been speaking about what it will feel like.
He said: “Playing Barcelona is difficult for me from an emotional point of view, but at the same time it’s stimulating.
“I want to do good work. I want my team to win the game. I want to prove to them and prove to myself that as a professional, I’m at the top of the game. And that means beating Barca.
“To hurt them, we’ll have to be the best version of ourselves. Barcelona is a very high-level club. They’re a good team. It’ll be very difficult, but I think we are at a very high level too.
“We’re on a good run and I’m convinced we can knock them out.”
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Enrique believes PSG can knock out his former clubCredit: Getty
Should he remain in the starting XI from the previous round, Pau Cubarsí would become the youngest defender to start a UEFA Champions League quarter-final match (17y 79d on the day of the game). Against Napoli last time out in the competition, Cubarsí was the Barcelona player with the highest pass completion rate (90% – 61/68) and the most line-breaking passes (14).
91% of Kylian Mbappé’s touches in the UEFA Champions League this season have come while under pressure from an opposition player; the highest percentage in the current tournament (min. 50 touches). Indeed, the Paris Saint-Germain attacker has made more key passes under pressure than any other forward in the competition this term (15).
Paris Saint-Germain vs Barcelona: talkSPORT coverage This Champions League quarter-final first leg will take place on Wednesday, April 10.
Kick-off at the Parc des Princes is scheduled for 8pm.
Read More on talkSPORTtalkSPORT 2 will have live coverage of the game.
Commentary will come from Jim Proudfoot and former England defender Danny Mills.
