A preview of Barcelona's UEFA Champions League clash with Paris Saint-Germain, as Luis Enrique's side travel to France looking to extend their unbeaten streak to eight matches
FC Barcelona continue the road to Berlin tomorrow, as they prepare to travel to France and to Paris to take on reigning Ligue Un champions Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes. At the season’s start, PSG were runaway favourites to secure their third successive domestic title and even mount a challenge for the UEFA Champions League after their run to the quarter-finals last season, yet an ominous start to the campaign has seen Laurent Blanc’s credentials questioned and PSG’s dominance come under threat.
Perhaps football has lost its soul, but there are brief moments of positivity and encouragement – like there is in France at the moment as the soulless Paris Saint-Germain are being outshone by a club with passion, history and a manager with an identity: Marcelo Bielsa. Under the enigmatic Argentine, Marseille have claimed 19 points from their opening eight games and currently lead the reigning champions by five points.
In fact, PSG are even trailing the likes of Bordeaux and Lille; and with rumours of discontent in the dressing room, Blanc’s job truly is under threat. Some are even suggesting that a loss on Tuesday could spell the end of his reign in charge; harsh, perhaps, but such is life at the top at a nouveau-riche club with demanding owners.
With a plethora of star players struggling for fitness ahead of this pivotal clash, things are looking decidedly noir for Blanc; but FC Barcelona should be under no illusion – this is still going to be a very tough fixture. Even after dispatching Granada CF 6-0 at the Camp Nou, Barça cannot be too complacent; just look what happened after we beat Levante 5-0, Luis Enrique’s side travelled to La Rosaleda and struggled en route to a goalless draw.
Given the current situation in Paris, this is an incredible opportunity for Luis Enrique and FC Barceloan to really send a statement. Perform to the best of our abilities, as we did against Granada CF on Saturday and we could send out one hell of a message to the rest of the footballing world. Let’s show everyone what Barça 2.0 is really about...
TEAM NEWS
BARCELONA
As expected, Luis Enrique recalled a couple of key players after leaving them out of the squad for Saturday’s match against Granada, as Gerard Piqué and Jordi Alba both return to the squad for this trip to Paris. Curiously, so does Douglas, a decision made all the more peculiar by the fact that Martin Montoya drops out of contention altogether. Answers on a postcard about that one...but with regards to the rest, there’s not much to talk about and certainly no more surprises to mention.
Therefore, Enrique virtually has the luxury of a full-strength squad to select his starting line-up from and given the calibre of the opposition, we expect that he will select his best possible XI – perhaps with one exception: in goal, as Marc-André ter Stegen should unseat the unbeatable Claudio Bravo.
Not that the German is an inferior player to Bravo – far from it – but he does have far less experience in this system or even playing in a similar style, which explains why Enrique has been favouring the Chilean in La Liga. That being said, ter Stegen looked great in his debut against APOEL Nicosia, and his shot-stopping ability could prove crucial against the individual brilliance of the PSG frontline.
In defense, Douglas’ inclusion in the squad does nothing but make me pray that Dani Alves can and will start tomorrow; he rolled back the years at the weekend with a sublime performance, which just went to show that he isn’t quite as washed-up and useless as some melodramatic Culés have recently been suggesting. Up against the very team that have tried (and failed) to prise him away from Catalunya for what seems like an eternity, Alves will be motivated to put on another show to really secure his starting berth again in the face of competition from Martin Montoya.
In the heart of the backline, Gerard Piqué gets my vote to lead the defense and I suspect that he will be partnered by Jeremy Mathieu, who provides the height, pace and natural balance to really complement Piqué. However, in spite of all this, Mathieu is yet to really play alongside Geri and I’m bemused as to why. In Lucho we trust though, so if we see Piqué and Bartra again, or Piqué and Mascherano, or even Mascherano and Mathieu, I’ll be more than content.
Jordi Alba will return on the left-side of defense, hopefully reinvigorated by his rest at the weekend. Adriano looked great against Granada, but Alba does take our attack to that next level and it’ll be good to see him back in the line-up.
In midfield, Xavi’s sensational performance against Granada perhaps complicates matters for Luis Enrique, but we know Lucho isn’t afraid to make the tough decisions so expect Xavi to drop straight back down to that bench irrespective of that display. Sergio Busquets will start at pivote, while Ivan Rakitić and Andrés Iniesta will continue their blossoming partnership just ahead in the two advanced midfield roles.
Meanwhile, the attack also picks itself – Lionel Messi, obviously. Neymar, obviously. Yet the final position is maybe a little less certain. On reputation, it’s Pedro’s to lose, but based on the performances we’ve seen from the two B team youngsters, Sandro and Munir, he may very well lose that place after all. Munir started at the weekend and therefore, that could either be construed as Pedro being rested, or a nod to Munir’s immense talent. Ultimately, based on the weekend, I would be hesitant to throw Munir in at the deep end – keep him in reserve, see how the game plays out and introduce him later if necessary.
PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN
At the time of writing on Sunday evening, Zlatan Ibrahimovic is rated as a doubt; Thiago Silva too could be set to miss out through injury while blockbuster summing signing David Luiz has also been discussing his lack of fitness. Even Ezequiel Lavezzi is ruled out for the next three weeks, leaving PSG with a lot less star-power than they perhaps would have hoped for tomorrow’s visit of the Blaugrana.
That being said, from Marquinhos to Blaise Matuidi to Javier Pastore and Edinson Cavani, PSG still have a lot of talent at their disposal, and that’s assuming the worst comes to the worst and all of the above miss out. However, that hasn’t really helped them in the past few weeks as PSG have won just 1 of their last 5, dropping points to Toulouse, Rennes, Lyon and Ajax. Sure, they are unbeaten this season but they have been completely incapable of killing off games, or even threatening to do so. Such hesitance could prove suicidal against Luis Enrique’s high-flying Barcelona.
FORM GUIDE
Barcelona: WWWWDW
PSG: WDDDWD
LAST MEETING
FC Barcelona 1-1 Paris Saint-Germain – 10th April 2013 – UEFA Champions League QF
Lionel Messi was injured, PSG had held the Blaugrana to a 2-2 draw in the first-leg and took the lead at the Camp Nou, courtesy of Javier Pastore. Enter a half-fit Leo Messi, cue a swing in the momentum and an all-important equaliser from Pedro.
LIKELY LINE-UPS
Barcelona (4-3-3): ter Stegen; Alves, Piqué, Mathieu, Alba; Busquets, Rakitić, Iniesta; Pedro, Messi, Neymar
PSG (4-1-2-1-2): Sirigu; Aurier, Luiz, Marquinhos, Digne; Verratti, Matuidi, Cabaye, Pastore; Cavani, Bahebeck
MATCH PREDICTION
This could be the toughest match of the season, or this could be a relative cakewalk compared to expectations. I’m reluctant to predict which – so will sit on the fence and predict a 2-1 Barça win.
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