Barcelona vs Paris Saint-Germain preview: Blaugrana seeks to overcome PSG’s European pedigree

Five-time Champions League winners Barcelona host current holders and treble winners Paris Saint-Germain in a blockbuster fixture at the Montjuïc Olympic Stadium tonight.

Barça secured a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Real Sociedad at the weekend to reclaim top spot in the La Liga table after Real Madrid fell to a humiliating 5-2 defeat to local rivals Atletico Madrid.

The Catalans also defeat Newcastle United 2-1 in their first UCL game thanks to Marcus Rashford’s double in Tyneside.

Luis Enrique is back in familiar territory after he won the first of his two trebles as a manager.

Le Parisiens saw off Auxerre with a 2-0 win in Ligue on Saturday, retaining their top spot in the league, level on points with Lyon.

The UCL champions began their title defence with a dominant 4-0 victory over Atalanta in the French capital.

Match preview

This will be the 16th meeting between Barcelona and PSG in major European competitions, with the two sides separated by just one victory across the previous 15.

Barça have triumphed on six occasions, with PSG winning five times and four matches being drawn.

The Spanish outfit have only lost one of their last 12 home matches in the Champions League (nine wins, two draws); it was against PSG, in April 2024 (1-4).

Since winning three straight UCL games against PSG in the 2014/15 campaign, the Blaugranas have only won two of their last six matches against French clubs in the Champions League (one draw, three defeats).

Paris Saint-Germain have won their last four matches in the Champions League, scoring 12 goals and conceding just one.

If they triumph today, the French side will become the first team ever to win three consecutive away games against Barcelona in major European competition.

Robert Lewandowski has only scored one UCL goal against PSG, netting for Bayern Munich in December 2017. His ratio of 450 minutes per goal against the French side is his worst versus any side in the competition.

Team news

Barcelona

Lamine Yamal and Alejandro Balde have returned back to full fitness after being absent for weeks.

Captain Marc-Andre ter Stegen (back injury), Gavi (knee), Joan Garcia (knee), Fermín Lopez (back) and Raphinha (hamstring) all miss out on this fixture due to injuries.

Paris Saint-Germain

Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele is out until mid-October with a right hamstring strain.

Desire Doue is also sidelined with a right calf strain, and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia remains a doubt due to an injury he sustained in their win over the weekend.

Captain Marquinhos will be unavailable with a left thigh issue.

Predicted line-ups

Barcelona: Diego Kochen, Jules Koundé, Ronald Araujo, Pau Cubarsí, Gerard Martín, Frenkie de Jong, Pedri, Lamine Yamal, Dani Olmo, Marcus Rashford, Robert Lewandowski.

Paris Saint-Germain: Lucas Chevalier, Achraf Hakimi, Illia Zabarnyi, Willian Pacho, Nuno Mendes, Fabián Ruiz, Senny Mayuli, Warren Zaïre-Emery, Ibrahim Mbaye, Bradley Barcola, Gonçalo Ramos.