Two teams with plenty of recent history in European football’s elite club competition will meet for the first leg of their last-eight showdown at the Parc des Princes on Wednesday.
Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona have met 10 times in the Champions League since 2013, serving up a host of memorable encounters along the way.
In this preview, we cover all the key stats, trends and analysis ahead of the clash. Continue reading to find out what Forebet’s predictive analytics model forecasts for the first leg.
PSG were held to a shock 1-1 draw by bottom-of-the-table Clermont Foot on Saturday, despite racking up 73% possession and 23 shots on home soil.
Still, the perennial French champions remain 10 points clear at the Ligue 1 summit, having lost just one of their 28 league matches this season.
It is worth noting, however, that PSG have struggled for consistency in the Champions League this term, recording two wins, two draws and two losses during the group stage.
Although Luis Enrique’s side notched a 4-1 aggregate victory over Real Sociedad in the last 16, they will surely be slightly concerned about their recent European form.
Meanwhile, Barcelona claimed a 1-0 victory over Las Palmas last time out, extending their unbeaten streak to 11 matches across all competitions.
Trailing top-of-the-table Real Madrid by eight points, Barca will be eager to forget about their La Liga struggles and focus on the Champions League.
Like PSG, Barcelona experienced an inconsistent group-stage campaign, losing two of their final three matches against Shakhtar Donetsk and Royal Antwerp.
Still, Xavi’s men upped their game in the round of 16, securing a 4-2 aggregate win over Napoli to book their place in the quarter-finals.
Head-to-head: PSG have lost just one of their last four Champions League meetings with Barcelona, notching 4-0 and 4-1 victories during that period.
Given that seven of the previous 10 encounters have produced over 3.5 goals, Wednesday’s clash will likely be a high-scoring affair.
Team news: PSG will be without suspended full-back Achraf Hakimi for the first leg, while Presnel Kimpembe, Sergio Rico and Layvin Kurzawa are injured.
Barcelona, on the other hand, remain without injured trio Gavi, Andreas Christensen and Alejandro Balde, while Pedri is a doubt for the first leg.
If the head-to-head statistics are anything to go by, Wednesday’s showdown will be an eventful encounter with goals at both ends.
Forebet’s AI algorithm predicts that PSG and Barcelona will produce a high-scoring draw, with both teams netting over 1.5 goals.