Ahead of their UEFA Champions League, round of 16 return leg match against Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), Barcelona seem like a different team to the one which played so badly in the first leg at home to lose 1-4. And many still remember that 6-1 win in March 2017. (More Football News)
Ronald Koeman's men are 16 games unbeaten in the league and the defense appears to be considerably stronger now that he has ditched the ineffective 4-3-3 formation for a 3-5-2 system which offers his central defenders more protection.
Veteran defender Gerard Pique is a doubtful starter for the game, however, after hurting his knee midweek. A lot will rest on Barca’s French defenders Clement Lenglet and Samuel Umtiti, with PSG almost at full strength.
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Even though PSG defend a big lead at Parc des Princes, there may be some nerves about facing Lionel Messi in top form once again. PSG went out after losing 6-1 in Spain in 2017 having won the home leg 4-0. But this Barcelona lineup is not as strong as the 2017 squad, and PSG is more resilient now.
Goal-scoring winger Angel Di Maria is back from injury and Neymar is close to a return after getting back to training. PSG coach Mauricio Pochettino may see no valid reason to drop the 4-2-3-1 formation which worked so well in Spain, with Kylian Mbappe helping himself to three goals despite playing wide and not as the central striker.
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Head-to-head: This will be their 13th meeting in the Champions League, with Barcelona leading 5-4 in the head-to-head record.
Check match and telecast details here:
Match: Paris Saint-Germain vs Barcelona, UEFA Champions League 2020-21, Round of 16, second leg match.
Date: March 11 (Thursday), 2021
Time: 01:30 AM IST
Venue: Parc des Princes, Paris, France
TV Channels: Sony Ten 2/HD (In Indian sub-continent)
Live Stream: SonyLiv (Indian sub-continent)
Likely XIs:
Paris Saint-Germain: Navas; Florenzi, Marquinhos, Kimpembe, Kurzawa; Gueye, Paredes; Di Maria, Verratti, Mbappe; Icardi.
Barcelona: Ter Stegen; Mingueza, Lenglet, Umtiti; Dest, De Jong, Busquets, Alba; Pedri; Messi, Griezmann.
