PSG travels Tuesday night on the lawn of FC Barcelona, in the round of 16 first leg of the Champions League.
Four years after the "remountada", the Parisians move to Camp Nou without Neymar or Di Maria but with Mbappé.
Follow this shock live on Europe 1 and Europe1.fr (kick off at 9 p.m.).
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We meet once again !
Four years after the trauma of the "remount", PSG again cross swords with FC Barcelona, Tuesday evening in the round of 16 first leg of the Champions League.
The Parisians, deprived of Neymar and Angel Di Maria, both injured, will count on Kylian Mbappé to bring back a Camp Nou result for the return match.
The Blaugranas, long in difficulty this season, have regained their colors in recent weeks, under the leadership of a Lionel Messi found and an Antoine Griezmann decisive since the beginning of the year 2021. All of these promising elements a superb meeting, to follow live on our antenna and on our site.
>> The Barça-PSG meeting can also be followed live on Europe 1 from 8 p.m. until 11:30 p.m. for our debrief
FC Barcelona - PSG: kick off at 9 p.m.
Update on the compositions: Kean holder on the PSG side, Pique very present on the Barça side!
While we were rather waiting for Sarabia to enter, Mauricio Pochettino finally opted for Kean to accompany Mbappé and Icardi in attack.
For the rest, it's classic with a duo Gueye-Paredes recovering and Verratti placed higher, in "number 10" of a 4-2-3-1 system.
As for Barça, the big surprise of the evening is the return of Pique, who was injured and has not played for three months, to evolve in central defense with Clément Lenglet, relegating at the same time Umtiti on the bench.
Griezmann and Dembélé are as expected holders in attack to accompany Messi.
The compositions of the two teams:
FC Barcelona:
Ter Stegen - Alba, Piqué, Lenglet, Dest - Pedri, Busquets, De Jong - Griezmann, Messi, Dembélé
PSG:
Navas - Kurzawa, Kimpembe, Marquinhos (cap.), Florenzi - Gueye, Paredes - Mbappé, Verratti, Kean - Icardi
Update: Barça supporters set the mood.
Even though the match will take place behind closed doors, fans of the Blaugrana club paraded in front of the Camp Nou with a flowery banner intended for PSG.
They even fired a fireworks display in the early evening, as our journalist saw on the spot.
The Barcelona supporters around the Camp Nou.
#FCBPSG#UCL@Europe1pic.twitter.com/yshKTG8l2p
- Julien Froment (@JulienFroment) February 16, 2021
The "prono" point: Christophe Jallet sees a draw.
Two months ago, during the draw, PSG was the favorite for this round of 16.
Barça, in crisis, chained the bad results and seemed not to be able to worry the finalist leaving the Champions League.
But since then, the Catalans have recovered and revived the interest of this shock.
Very smart whoever can predict the score of this eighth first leg.
Christophe Jallet, the former side of PSG and the Blues, sees him a draw (1-1), as he confided this morning on Europe 1.
The point "'eco": "mes que un match".
This round of 16 is also crucial for the finances of the two clubs, heavily impacted by the coronavirus crisis.
The PSG thus estimates the shortfall at more than 200 million euros this season, between the loss of income related to the ticket office and the fiasco of Mediapro.
For Barça, the situation is even worse, with a debt approaching one billion euros.
Read here our article on this confrontation which goes far beyond the framework of the field.
The point blaugrana: Barça and Messi in form, a defense in question.
If PSG seemed purred during its last meetings, Barça remains on a good dynamic, with eight consecutive victories in La Liga.
The Barcelona, now third in the standings, can count on the return to form of Lionel Messi, author of a double this weekend against Alaves (5-1).
The other star of the Blues, Antoine Griezmann, finally seems to flourish with Barça and should also pose big problems for PSG.
Conversely, the Catalan defense does not provide all the guarantees, like the defeat a week ago in the Spanish Cup semi-final first leg on the lawn of Sevilla FC (0-2).
The French world champion Samuel Umtiti, who should start this evening with his compatriot Clément Lenglet, had lived a real ordeal.
The infirmary point: without Neymar or Di Maria, but with Mbappé.
For this shock, PSG presents itself without two of its offensive stars, Neymar and Angel Di Maria, both injured.
Argentina coach Mauricio Pochettino, who arrived in January, will count on Kylian Mbappé to carry the Parisian attack.
That's good: the star of the Blues, who has scored only one goal in the Champions League playoff games with PSG, arrives with a spirit of revenge.
He will certainly have to raise his level compared to recent weeks, like the whole Parisian team, which has not always convinced in the game. But PSG remains on three consecutive victories in Ligue 1 and returned to second place of the championship, one point from Lille.
The "history" point: since the "remount", a lot has changed.
So yes, Barça does not succeed at PSG.
The Parisians were eliminated in the last three direct elimination confrontations in C1: in the quarter-finals in 2013 (2-2, 1-1) and in 2015 (1-3, 0-2), then obviously in 2017 in the eighth of the final, during the infamous "remountada" (4-0, 1-6).
If the wound remains open, PSG partially closed it by going to the final last year.
Barça, on the contrary, chained the disillusionment in the European Cup, like the terrible 8-2 cashed last year in the quarter-finals against Bayern Munich.