This Tuesday, Barça needs to finish the job at the Lluis Companys against PSG and sneak into the semifinals of the Champions League. The team led by Xavi Hernández won 2-3 at the Parc des Princes in the first leg and has in hand the possibility of sneaking into the four best in Europe and filling the veins of all Barcelona fans with even more hope. , packed in a key week in which Real Madrid also awaits at the Bernabéu. Xavi will have at his disposal Pedri and Frenkie De Jong, more talented than a week ago, and also a fan who will support his team in search of a magical night.
«It is an important moment for Barcelona fans. We have recovered the enthusiasm that has been so lacking during the season, it can be seen on the street. “I am euphoric and excited to be where we are,” said Xavi this Monday at the press conference prior to his team’s match against a PSG against whom it is not advisable to trust one another. The Terrasa coach experienced an atypical pre-match day with the visit of president Joan Laporta to “give confidence” to the team and show the squad that he is “just another culé.”
The president’s joy is not surprising. Barça has left the times of tension behind and has entered a moment of the season in which it seems that everything is going smoothly. The team wins, the communion with the fans is total, Xavi has forgotten about the press and even the infirmary begins to empty. It is the perfect time to face the decisive stretch of the season and face a PSG that will not make things easy despite the defeat in the first leg. Xavi knows that he does not want to ring the bells and warns of the rival’s danger. «I see it equal. They are one of the best teams in the world and will not speculate. I hope for a game like the first leg,” he anticipated.
Despite the warnings, Xavi is aware that the dynamic smiles on his team. Barça arrives at the event after adding 26 of the last 30 points in the League and with a favorable record in the tie against Naples and also in the first leg with PSG. The one from Terrassa knows it and also a fan that prepares a cauldron rarely seen since Barça plays at the Lluis Companys. It is expected to hang the ‘no tickets’ sign, as the classics would say, and the atmosphere will be that of the big nights, or so Xavi hopes at least. “It must be a magical night, like at the Camp Nou,” stressed the Catalan coach.
To experience that magical night, Xavi will be able to count on all his players with the exception of the long-term injured Balde and Gavi, as well as the suspended Christensen and Sergi Roberto. These absences will not condition the approach of the culés, who will form with an eleven very different from the one that achieved victory in Cádiz. Only Ter Stegen and Cubarsí would repeat in a team that will repeat the 4-3-3 of the first leg with Cancelo and Koundé on the sides, Pedri and Frenkie de Jong, more well-rounded, in the midfield with Gündogan, and with Lamine Yamal and Raphinha accompanying Lewandowski, who must once again play the role of buoy to avoid pressure from Luis Enrique in the opposite field.
A rested rival
Opposite will be a team that has had six days to think solely and exclusively about the game against Barcelona. PSG did not play in France, after the LFP decided to postpone its commitment against Lorient so that it could focus on the Champions League, and will land at Lluis Companys with its mind set on turning around the tie and getting into the semi-finals. There is no other option in a club that lives for and to achieve that goal and not for Luis Enrique who knows that he is at risk and who came to office to conquer the ‘orejona’.
To achieve that objective, Lucho will be able to count on his entire arsenal with the exception of the injured Kimpembe, Kurzawa and Sergio Rico. These losses do not affect the structure of a PSG that will put everything on the table to prevail in the atmosphere of Montjuic. Luis Enrique recovers Achraf Hakimi for the right side, he will repeat with Vitinha and Fabián in the midfield and up top Barcola and Dembélé will accompany Mbappé in one of the fastest forwards in European football.
Probable lineups
Barcelona: Ter Stegen; Kounde, Araujo, Cubarsi, Cancelo; Frenkie de Jong, Gündogan, Pedri; Raphinha, Lamine Yamal and Lewandowski.
PSG: Donarumma; Hakimi, Marquinhos, Lucas Hernández, Nuno Mendes; Vitinha, Fabián, Zaire-Emery; Barcola, Dembélé and Mbappé.
Referee: István Kovács (Romania).
Time: 21:00 h. Louis Companions
TV: Movistar Champions League.
2024-04-15 12:42:14
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