Facing FC Barcelona, ??Paris Saint-Germain will meet one of the biggest clubs in European football this Wednesday April 10 in the quarter-final first leg of the Champions League.
Gala match at the Parc des Princes this Wednesday April 10. At home, Paris Saint-Germain is preparing to play one of the most important matches of its season by facing FC Barcelona in the quarter-final first leg of the Gala League. A large European poster opposing two clubs with the same objective, to lift the Big Ears Cup.
What defense for Paris?
This is the question that is on everyone’s lips among football specialists and Parisian supporters. After the suspension for the first leg of Achraf Hakimi, Luis Enrique finds himself faced with a dilemma, to play Marquinhos on the right or to move down a rank, the young prospect who has already helped out this season in this position, Warren Zaire- Emery. In any case, the Spanish technician has already made his decision as he said at a press conference: “I have made my decision and you will see it tomorrow.” Former coach of the Blaugranas, he led the Catalan team during the famous comeback. But today, Luis Enrique is only focused on the capital club: “It’s a totally different match for me. I played against Sporting (Gijon, his former club) as a player and I scored two goals. But you have to be professional, I really like Barça but I have to concentrate on the work and the team that had confidence in me (PSG). And I want to move on to the next round.” Before the double confrontation, the former coach of La Roja was questioned to find out which of him or Xavi best represents the DNA of Barça. “Without a doubt, me. That’s my opinion. The possession of the ball, the goals, the pressure, the titles, the trophies. I represent Barça best even if others think differently,” he said. underlines.
Le FC Barcelone, pass favorite Selon Xavi
On the Blaugrana side, Xavi faces a race against time with a squad undermined by injuries. The FC Barcelona coach will be able to count on the returns of Frenkie de Jong and Pedri in midfield. If he approaches this quarter-final of the Champions League as a “challenge”, Xavi thinks that Paris Saint-Germain are favorites: “Mbappé, Dembélé, Kolo Muani, Vitinha… That’s the whole team of PSG. The scorer is Mbappé, we know that. You have to be aggressive, mark him well, be attentive. PSG is one of the best teams in the world in transition […] It’s not a strategy. They are the favorites because they have a great team. We are excited but it is true that we are not the favorites. I really think so. (…) I think the favorite is PSG. They added Ousmane Dembélé last summer.” For this first leg, no less than eight Blaugrana players are under threat of suspension for the second leg in the event of a yellow card: Ronald Araujo, Andreas Christensen, Sergi Roberto, Frenkie De Jong, Robert Lewandowski, Lamine Yamal, Ferran Torres and João Félix. At a press conference, Xavi did not fail to respond to his Parisian counterpart: “You know him, he’s like that. We have a good relationship, I have respect for him. He’s one of the best coaches in the world. He has a very good team. We are facing a complicated opponent. We both have Barça DNA. It’s the same for Arteta and Guardiola, all four of us are in the quarter-finals. We will have to having possession, you have to do a lot of things to win. We both want to win and we have identified the same things to get there. We are both looking for the same thing.”
Reinforced security for the meeting
This quarter-final first leg is subject to particular monitoring due to terrorist threats. On Tuesday, Gérald Darmanin announced that security around the Parc des Princes would be “considerably reinforced.” He mentioned a “clear threat publicly mentioned by the Islamic State”, before adding that the General Directorate of Internal Security (DGSI) “[was] particularly hard at work to be there for a preventive or, if necessary, curative information. This declaration comes the day after threats of attack issued by the Islamic State, inciting its followers on social networks to take action in four stadiums in Europe for the Champions League matches.
The Champions League quarter-final clash between PSG and Barcelona is scheduled to kick off on Wednesday April 10 at 9:00 p.m. at the Parc des Princes in Paris (France). Anthony Taylor (England) will be the referee of this great European poster.
Holders of the TV rights to the Champions League, Canal and RMC Sport 1 will broadcast the meeting between the Parisians and the Blaugrana.
If you want to watch the Champions League quarter-final clash between Paris Saint-Germain and FC Barcelona on your computer, smartphone or tablet, you will need to take out a subscription on MyCanal or on the RMC Sport website.
PSG : Donnarumma (G) – Marquinhos, L.Hernandez, Beraldo, Nuno Mendes – Zaïre-Emery, Vitinha, F.Ruiz – Dembélé, Mbappé, Lee (or Ramos).
Barcelona: Stegen (G) – Kound, Cubarsi, Araujo, Cancelo – de Jong, Gündogan, F.Lopez – Yamal, Lewandowski, Raphinha.
