Barcelona vs Paris Saint-Germain

Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys is the venue as Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain go head-to-head in the return leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie.

Barcelona got half of the job done in Paris last week, winning the first leg 3-2 to put one foot in the Champions League semi-finals for the first time since 2018/19. Xavi Hernandez’s side came out on top of a topsy-turvy encounter at the Parc des Princes before a 1-0 La Liga win at Cadiz extended their unbeaten run across all competitions to 13 matches (W10, D3). Avoiding defeat would propel the Catalan powerhouse to the last four, and their impressive home record against French opposition (W9, D2, L2) suggests that’s a mere formality. But there’s no room for complacency, knowing their last such fixture yielded a 4-1 loss at the hands of none other than Paris Saint-Germain.

On the other hand, Paris Saint-Germain had a weekend off to dust themselves up and overturn a slim deficit. However, Les Parisiens haven’t fared well on Spanish soil (W6, D3, L9), while there’s a more ominous piece of history looming over their heads. They’ve gone on to lose the away leg in all seven UEFA two-legged ties in which they suffered defeat in the first leg at home. On a more positive note, Luis Enrique’s men have won their last three competitive away games, including the most recent two via multi-goal margins, which would see them defy history and turn this tie on its head. Yet, before the abovementioned win in 2021, PSG had failed to beat Barcelona in all five previous away H2Hs in the Champions League (D2, L3).