The first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals will be contested in midweek, with Paris Saint-Germain hosting Barcelona. This is the first time in three years that the two teams have met in the knockout stage of the Champions League. In the two-round battle, who will have the upper hand?
Grand Paris, playing at home, have already experienced 2 league games and 1 French Cup match after the national team break. There is nothing wrong with the current competitive form of Paris, the biggest problem of the team comes from coach Enrique and the number one star Mbappe, and the conflict between the two sides may become an important reason for their performance in the Champions League.
Barcelona were given a full 10 days off last week. Barcelona had won four in a row in all competitions before that, and Barcelona had not lost a single game since entering February. This is the first time in four years that Barcelona has appeared in the Champions League quarterfinals, and the team is full of confidence in this competition with Paris.
This is the eighth time that Paris have appeared in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, having progressed to the next round on three of the previous seven occasions. In the past, Paris has played Spanish teams 38 times in European competitions, with 16 wins, 9 draws, 13 losses, scoring 61 goals and conceding 58 goals, including 10 wins, 6 draws and 3 defeats against Spanish clubs at home.
Barcelona have played in the quarter-finals of the Champions League 22 times before, progressing 15 times and exiting seven times, five of which have occurred in the last seven Champions League quarter-finals. Barcelona have a record of 14 wins, 7 draws and 6 defeats against French teams in European competitions, scoring 55 goals and conceding 38 goals, and away records with 4 wins, 5 draws and 4 defeats.
The two teams have met 13 times in European history, winning four games each. The last time the two sides met in the Champions League was in 2021, when Barcelona eliminated Paris 5-2 over two legs. Barcelona have reached the next four meetings between the two sides in the knockout stages of the Champions League, including a thrilling 6-1 comeback in 2017.
The match will be played on April 11 at 3 a.m. Beijing time, and the CCTV sports channel will broadcast the game live. Paris and Barcelona are reunited, Enrique and Xavi's master-apprentice duel, who will have the last laugh? Fans who support both teams, remember to follow the live broadcast of this game on time.