Barcelona is the leader of La Liga, PSG is at the top of Ligue 1, both teams opened the new Champions League season with a win, and tonight (21) they will meet in Spain in one of the most interesting matches of the second round of the Champions League.
In fact, the biggest possible derby is being played: PSG and Barça are already ranked as the biggest favorites to win the elite European competition, along with Liverpool and Arsenal (the odds on all four teams are identical - seven).
The outcome of the duel, of course, will not have much, if any, impact on who is closer to the title, it is only the beginning of the season, and in the first phase system that has been played since last year, even the placement before the knockout phase is not that important. An example is PSG, which struggled to be among the top 24 teams last season, and then - won the Champions League.
The duel at the "Parc des Princes" will show who is in better shape at the moment, and in the long term - it could only affect confidence.
These two teams have played many interesting duels throughout history, after all, the famous "remontada" from 2017 will never be forgotten (6:1 for Barça in the second leg, after a 4:0 defeat in Paris), and tonight they will write another chapter in their rich history.
Barcelona enter the match on the back of a five-game winning streak in all competitions. Hansi Flick's team took advantage of Real's 5-2 derby defeat to Atletico Madrid the previous weekend to take first place in the domestic league. What's even more interesting is the fact that the "blaugrana" have won three of their seven La Liga games after coming from behind.
- We are playing against the best team from last season and it is a big challenge. PSG is a very strong team and we are looking forward to that match. We have to work on our game plan, to improve our positioning and ball control. But it will not be easy, because they are good at that too. We have to play at a high level from the first second. This is the Champions League and there is no room for mistakes. We need all the players - said Barcelona coach Hansi Flick.
PSG have been causing Barca a lot of problems lately - since the aforementioned 2017, but tonight they will be greatly weakened. They will be without captain Marquinhos, Ballon d'Or winner Ousmane Dembele, as well as Hvicha Kvarachelia and Desire Due. Can the handicaps be higher?
Barca, on the other hand, will be without Rafinha and the long-term absent Gavi, and goalkeeper Joan Garcia is also absent, so 35-year-old Wojciech Szczesny will be in goal.
However, Lamin Jamal is back - he will play from the start. Flik spoke about the upcoming star of world football at a press conference.
- He is exceptional, but he is 18 years old and needs to focus on hard work. He has the talent to take another step forward, but it is about effort and improving all aspects of his game, including defense.
Juventus and Vasilije Adžić are visiting Villarreal in Spain. At the “La Keramika” stadium, formerly known as “Madrigalo”, the Montenegrin midfielder will most likely be waiting for a chance from the bench, after starting in a competitive match for Juventus for the first time on Saturday.
Juve will be playing away to Milan in the big Serie A derby on Sunday, so it is clear that coach Igor Tudor will have to use a large number of players.
Dušan Vlahović could thus start, after coming off the bench in the first round and making a splash against Borussia in Turin (a crazy 4:4 draw).
Vlahović is fighting for a spot on the team with Opendo and Davis.
- This is the Champions League, a platform for all players - the Croat diplomatically answered the question of who would start in attack.
- I'm happy to have all three of them, I always talk to them, I always have to make sure everyone feels important. All three of them are good guys and strong players, I like their mentality. All three of them will give us great support.
Manchester City plays away to Monaco, and Arsenal welcomes Olympiacos in London.
After losing to Manchester City, Napoli plays Sporting Lisbon at the "Maradona".
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