Barcelona vs Paris Saint-Germain preview: Blaugrana play host to Champions League holders in blockbuster clash

Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain will be looking to deliver a huge statement of intent when they face off at Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys in round two of the 2025-26 Champions League.

Both teams made winning starts to their European campaigns on matchday one and currently sit top of their respective leagues heading into Tuesday’s heavyweight encounter.

Barcelona preview

Having watched Real Madrid suffer a humiliating 5-1 defeat to city rivals Atletico Madrid on Saturday, Barcelona took full advantage by beating Real Sociedad 2-1 on Sunday to move top of La Liga.

For the third time this season, Hansi Flick’s side went behind but were able to turn things around once again thanks to strikes in either half from Jules Kounde and Robert Lewandowski.

As a result, Barcelona have now won five straight matches, including a 2-1 victory over Newcastle United to kick off their UCL journey earlier this month.

The Catalans’ next assignment sees them face off against an opposing side who are unbeaten in three of the last four meetings between the teams and ran out 4-1 winners in the most recent matchup back in April 2024.

Still, Barcelona will head into the upcoming clash with the wind in their sails, given their 13-game unbeaten run dating back to May, during which they have scored a whopping 46 goals.

Paris Saint-Germain preview

As the world gathered to see Ousmane Dembele pick up the prestigious Ballon d’Or award, Paris Saint-Germain suffered a first league defeat of the campaign at the hands of Marseille last Monday.

Dembele presented his accolade to the PSG faithful moments before their last Ligue 1 involvement against Auxerre, which ended in a 2-0 triumph.

Since their Club World Cup final defeat to Chelsea, Luis Enrique’s side have won seven of their subsequent eight matches across all competitions.

Les Parisiens got their Champions League defence underway with a 4-0 demolition of Atalanta, but Tuesday’s encounter against Barcelona will be a more significant test of their title credentials.

Team news

Joan Garcia (knee) and Marc-Andre ter Stegen (back) are both unavailable for Barcelona, leaving Wojciech Szczesny as the clear favourite to feature between the sticks.

Gavi (knee), Fermin Lopez (groin) and Raphinha (thigh) are also ruled out for the hosts.

Lamine Yamal made his return to action from a groin problem off the bench against Sociedad, but the prodigy should feature right from the off here.

Alejandro Balde should get some minutes under his belt after five games out with a hamstring problem.

Dembele is not fit enough for the challenge of his former employers as he remains out with a thigh problem.

Fellow Frenchman Desire Doue is also expected to miss out alongside skipper Marquinhos and Joao Neves.

Vitinha was forced off with an injury scare against Auxerre, but should be back to anchor the midfield.

Barcelona Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Szczesny; Kounde, Garcia, Cubarsi, Martin; Pedri, De Jong; Yamal, Olmo, Rahford; Lewandowski

Paris Saint-Germain predicted XI (4-3-3): Chevalier; Mendes, Pacho, Marquinhos, Hakimi; Ruiz, Vitinha, Zaire-Emery; Kvaratskhelia, Ramos, Barcola