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Barcelona will be kicking themselves following a rare defeat at the Camp Nou in their final group stage encounter against Juventus.
Second place has left them coupled with last season’s finalists PSG in what appears to be the tie of the round, but they hold fond memories of hosting the Parisians after a 6-1 triumph here back in 2017 when they last met.
The Catalans have actually won all three encounters at this venue since 2014, and while they’re no strangers to a poor result in Europe on their travels, their record in the Champions League at home is second to none.
They’re W34-D4-L1 since 2013/14, winning an incredible 13 of 15 unbeaten knockout matches over this period, including 12 of 13 since 2014/15. Barcelona may to a certain extent be a team in transition, but that history is hard to ignore and the squad still contains serial winners with plenty of experience at this level.
PSG haven’t fared particularly well away from home in Europe either. They’re just W14-D5-L10 since 2014/15 and have a particularly bad record when limited to quality opponents.
Up against the best sides they’ve travelled to (Arsenal, Barcelona, Bayern, Chelsea, Dortmund, Leipzig, Liverpool, Man City, Man Utd, Napoli and Real Madrid), PSG are a desperately poor W3-D4-L10, as they’ve led at the break in just one of these games.
Aside from a win over Chelsea back in 2016, the only successes PSG have had over big teams on the road are the two delivered against Man Utd since 2019.
The Red Devils are hardly amongst Europe’s elite right now however, while that most recent win came when Fred saw red for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men at Old Trafford in the group stages this term.
Barcelona To Win And Both Teams To Score
Barcelona remain realistic contenders for the top prize with Lionel Messi in the ranks, and demonstrated that they could still mix with the best as they beat Juventus 2-0 in Turin in the group stages.
They look set to prioritize this competition with the league looking like it’s slipped way, as they trail leaders Atletico Madrid by eight points having played a game more, while for once it hasn’t been plain sailing as usual for their visitors domestically this term either.
The team news also provides plenty of interest. The big headline is of course the absence of Neymar, though Mauricio Pochettino is also unable to call upon Angel Di Maria, while Marco Verratti is a minor doubt.
PSG have fared badly in the absence of their star Brazilian as a fractured metatarsal bone saw him missed as Real Madrid dumped them out in his first season at the club, while the following year similar circumstances saw him watch on from the sidelines as a youthful Man Utd took advantage.
However, Kylian Mbappe still provides star power and he’s supported by attacking threats Mauro Icardi and Moise Kean, both of whom have been amongst the goals, while Barca are hardly flourishing at the back themselves.
Ronald Koeman has a number of injury concerns himself and while Ansu Fati and Phillip Coutinho could be missed in attack, it’s at the back where the Catalans could come unstuck.
Right-back Seri Roberto and centre-backs Gerard Pique and Roland Araujo are all set to miss out. Pique is of course fundamental for Barcelona and the 34-year-old veteran has been sidelined since late November, so PSG will still fancy themselves to register on the scoresheet.
Still, it’s been 13 years since Barca have failed to make it past this round, and we’d expect them to make home advantage count in the absence of Neymar.
Barcelona have won despite conceding in four of their last five at home in this competition, including over the likes of Dortmund and Napoli, while domestically both teams have scored in five of their last six.
Meanwhile, PSG have still found the net in four of their five defeats in all competitions since October, as well as nine of 10 losses in this competition since 2016/17.
Barcelona To Win And Both Teams To Score At 21/10
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