Barcelona vs PSG preview

April 20, 2015
By: Nemanja Lazarevic

PSG vs BarcelonaIn spite of the 3-1 triumph in the first leg, Barcelona need to take this game seriously and secure progress into the Champions League semi-finals.

The Saints will have a number of key men back for the second match, but they, nonetheless, face an extremely difficult task at Camp Nou.

The past week was extremely important for Barcelona as they had two very important matches to negotiate and the Catalans once again passed the test with flying colours.

Luis Enrique’s charges took full advantage of PSG’s problems to record a 3-1 victory at Parc des Princes, with Luis Suarez the main architect, having scored two brilliant solo goals.

The Uruguayan then scored inside the opening minute to help Barcelona keep a two-point advantage at the La Liga summit with a hard-fought win over Valencia, making sure the team remain in a good position to win another treble of major titles.

Even if they hold a two-goal advantage from the first leg, the Catalans are in for another difficult encounter, but they have been made 1.40 (2/5) favourites to win the return leg as well.

Argentine superstar Leo Messi continued the rich vein of form as he scored and assisted in a 2-0 win over Valencia and he is now 1.67 (2/3) to score anytime v PSG.

There have been more good news for Luis Enrique as Andres Iniesta resumed full training from a back injury and he should be fit to play.

Probable starting line-up (4-3-3): ter Stegen – Alves, Pique, Mascherano, Alba – Rakitic, Busquets, Iniesta – Messi, Suarez, Neymar.

Paris Saint-Germain did brilliantly to reach the Champions League quarter-finals for the third time in a row, eliminating Premier League leaders Chelsea in the process.

However, they were incredibly unfortunate to have three very important players miss the first leg of the Barcelona tie, while Thiago Silva got injured early on and David Luiz was not at 100%.

It was the former Chelsea defender that was at blame for two Barcelona goals, having allowed Luis Suarez to score, with the tie now effectively over.

PSG have since made an important step towards the Ligue 1 title defence by defeating Nice on the road, and they will now attempt to produce a miracle and score at least three goals at Camp Nou to go through.

That definitely looks a mission impossible given Barcelona’s current form, but bear in mind the Saints are 34.00 (33/1) to make it to the semis.

The good news is that Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Marco Verratti are back from suspension, but Thiago Motta and Thiago Silva are out injured and Serge Aurier is banned.

Probable starting line-up (4-3-3): Sirigu – van der Wiel, Marquinhos, Luiz, Maxwell – Pastore, Verratti, Matuidi – Cavani, Ibrahimovic, Lavezzi.

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