psg vs barcelona prediction PSG vs Barcelona Prediction and Preview
Kylian Mbappé and Co. welcome Xavi’s men to Parc des Princes on Wednesday. We look ahead to the UEFA Champions League quarter-final clash with our PSG vs Barcelona prediction and preview.
PSG vs Barcelona Stats: The Quick Hits
- Paris Saint-Germain are the favourites for this one, defeating Barcelona in 49.7% of 10,000 pre-match simulations for the first leg.
- PSG’s heaviest defeat ever in the European Cup/UEFA Champions League was inflicted by Barcelona after their 6-1 victory in March 2017.
- Only Thomas Müller and Andriy Shevchenko have scored more Champions League goals against Barcelona than Paris Saint-Germain’s Kylian Mbappé.
Match Preview
Paris Saint-Germain will hope to put one foot in the UEFA Champions League semi-finals when Barcelona visit for Wednesday’s enticing quarter-final first-leg meeting at Parc des Princes.
Luis Enrique’s reigning Ligue 1 champions swept aside Real Sociedad in the last 16, winning 4-1 on aggregate after a 2-1 second-leg victory in Spain to secure their progress to the last eight of Europe’s top club competition.
The success of Wednesday’s hosts may once again hinge on perennial Real Madrid target Kylian Mbappé, who scored twice in the second leg against La Real after also netting in their first meeting in mid-February.
Barcelona head coach Xavi will be expected to place significant focus on Mbappé – as most managers usually do – but that may be no issue for France’s 2018 FIFA World Cup winner.
A massive 91% of Mbappé’s touches in this season’s competition have come while under pressure from an opponent, the highest proportion of all players with at least 50 touches. This highlights the respect teams have for him, yet he’s still created more chances with passes under pressure (15) than any other forward this term.