Barcelona vs PSG predicted XIs: Confirmed team news and probable line-ups
Barcelona will attempt to defend their 3-2 first-leg lead when they entertain Paris Saint-Germain in their Champions League quarter-final second leg at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys.
The second leg kicks off on Tuesday April 16th at 20:00 BST, with coverage available in the UK on
TNT Sports 1 and Ultimate.
In what was a dramatic first encounter between these two European heavyweights, Barca took an early lead through Raphinha before PSG hit back thanks to Ousmane Demble and Vitinha before Raphinha struck again to level it at 2-2.
With both sides then guilty of missing chances, sub Andreas Christensen won it for Xavi’s men with 13 minutes to go to give five-time European champions Barca the advantage.
Barca now favourites to progress
The first-leg win puts the Catalan outfit in the driving seat for the second leg, but PSG will be dangerous opponents again as the French giants, who are top of Ligue 1, should be refreshed and ready to go after they had a free weekend to prepare for their trip to Spain.
Xavi opted to rest a whole host of his first-team regulars for his side’s 1-0 win at Cadiz in La Liga so the hosts will also be fresh for what should be another entertaining showdown between two sides who both have ambitions on winning the whole competition.
After he confirmed he will be standing down as Barca chief in the summer, Xavi and his players look determined to go out on a high as they chase European glory in the final weeks of the campaign.
Ironically, they face Luis Enrique in the opposite dugout – the current PSG boss who led Barca for almost three years between 2014 and 2017 and was the last manager to lift the Champions League trophy for Catalans.
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Barcelona vs PSG team news
Andreas Christensen, who came off the bench to score the winner in the first leg, is suspended for Barca after he picked up a late booking last week.
Sergi Roberto is also suspended for the hosts, while Gavi and Alejandro Balde are still absent through injury.
Xavi rested a lot of his regular starters at the weekend so the likes of Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, Pedri, Frenkie de Jong and Ilkay Gundogan are all set to return to the line-up.
PSG, in contrast, do not have any players suspended for the second leg but Enrique does still have plenty of injury issues to deal with.
Presnel Kimpembe, Layvin Kurzawa and Nordi Mukiele are all still unavailable but the visitors do have star frontman Kylian Mbappe, former Barca ace Dembele and exciting young winger Bradley Barcola to call upon as they look to overturn the first-leg deficit.
Barcelona vs PSG predicted line-ups
Barcelona (4-3-3): Ter Stegen; Kounde, Araujo, Cubarsi, Joao Cancelo; De Jong, Gundogan, Pedri; Yamal, Lewandowski, Raphinha.
PSG (4-3-3): Donnarumma; Hakimi, Marquinhos, Hernandez, Mendes; Zaire-Emery, Vitinha, Ruiz; Dembele, Mbappe, Barcola.
