After drawing 2-2 in the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal, Barcelona will welcome Paris Saint Germain to the Nou Camp this week as they try to secure a berth in the semifinals for 2013.
The Catalan club were undone by PSG in the final minutes of the first leg, with that equalizing goal perhaps giving the French club that little spark needed to thrive in Spain—especially given that star striker Lionel Messi is in serious doubt for the fixture.
Messi's presence or absence will be the story, but given Barca's depth of talent and their ability to hurt opponents, they'll no doubt be just fine without him and will be an incredibly tough team to break down at home.
Still, if any team is going to do it, PSG against a Messi-less Blaugrana would seem like an ideal opportunity, and we're no doubt in for a thrilling Champions League quarterfinal as a result.
Read on for a full preview of the game including all the need-to-know details, live viewing information, analysis and last-mintue predictions.
Coverage of this game is available in the United States via Fox Deportes, Fox Soccer Channel, Sirius XM FC and TV3 Cataluyna. Sky Sports 2/HD, Sky Sports Red Button, and Sky Go will provide coverage throughout the United Kingdom.
Live streams can be found via Fox Soccer 2Go, Sky Sports' Events Centre or SBS On Demand, depending on your location around the world.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic played a huge part in both of PSG's goals in the opening leg and was a clear attacking threat all night—something he'll likely repeat when he takes the field at Camp Nou.
The former Barcelona star was too powerful in the air for the Catalan club's defenders in the opening leg, and if PSG can continue to find good attacking avenues for him then he'll likely continue his dominance in the second leg.
We've already seen how well players have fared in the Champions League this year upon returning to their former locations. Manchester United's David de Gea was immense in his return to the city of Madrid, while Cristiano Ronaldo scored on his return to Old Trafford. And now Ibra, returning back to Spain, could do the same.
Paris Saint Germain are one of the few clubs in world football that won't just sit back and park the bus against Barcelona, which means that Ibrahimovic should see plenty of action at the top of the attack.
Whether that will transpire into goals and a stunning victory still remains to be seen, but you would have to think that Ibra is the player to watch in this one.
Without doubt the biggest storyline following the 2-2 draw was that of Lionel Messi, who did not return after half time courtesy of a hamstring injury.
He did not feature for La Blaugrana on the weekend, and while there is no official word on whether or not he will play for the Catalan club here, it seems incredibly unlikely that he won't feature here (per The Guardian), having been listed as the last name on the team sheet (per Independent).
The answer, if the weekend is anything to go by, is not that much at all, with Cesc Fabregas and Alexis Sanchez starring for La Blaugrana in their drubbing of Mallorca. Fabregas in particular was excellent—played in the false-nine role for a change—and could see action in the return leg here, though they will likely need to make room for David Villa in attack as well.
The statistics suggest that Barcelona should be fine without their star striker and their win on the weekend showed that to be completely true.
However, having said that, not having the best player in the world line up for you will be a bitter blow for the home side and one that will affect them somewhat—if only for the extra confidence it gives their opponents that they can indeed win here.
"Obviously if the best player in the world is not available then it's a handicap for us. But we have a lot of other players who can play at a high level and we will do our best to get the right result. The players who can play in his position give an absolute guarantee of success..."
0. No French team has ever won at the Camp Nou in the Champions League, with the only victory over Barcelona for a French team at Camp Nou coming October 1984 for Metz in the Cup Winners Cup.
3. Paris Saint Germain have won their last three away games in the Champions League this year—beating Valencia, Dynamo Kiev and Dinamo Zagreb. Moreover, they have scored two goals in each of those games and have lost just two of their last seven European contests in Spain.
19. All of PSG's goals in the Champions League this year (19 in total) have come from inside the box—more than any other team in the tournament.
Regardless of what happens with Lionel Messi, Barcelona are the firm favorites here to progress through to the semifinals and so they should be.
They have a dominant team, and came from two goals down to beat AC Milan in their last Champions League home game—a form line that PSG will not want to awaken in this one.
Even if they draw 0-0 or 1-1, the home side will have the away-goal advantage in their favor, and it's hard to see anything but a Barca progression in this one.
I think Messi will start on the bench, with Roura perhaps using him if needed—but I don't think that will be the case. Andres Iniesta will bag a first-half double to give Barca a commanding lead that no attack from PSG will be able to run down.
Goals galore at the Nou Camp as Barca move through to the semifinals with ease—running out 3-1 victors on the night to eliminate the Ligue 1 giants.
Link: [Soccer Live] Pogon Szczecin - Widzew Lodz - Polish Ekstraklasa
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