Paris Saint Germain vs Barcelona Matchday Stats Preview

Paris Saint Germain vs Barcelona Matchday Stats Preview 

Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona have met 12 times previously in the UEFA Champions League, with the head-to-head record perfectly balanced at four wins each and four draws.

Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona will meet in the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League in a sixth different season; only Real Madrid vs. Bayern Munich (9) and Real Madrid vs. Juventus (7) have been played in more editions of the competition at the knockout phase.

One of the only three instances of Barcelona losing by four goals away from home in the European Cup/UEFA Champions League came against Paris Saint-Germain in February 2017 (also 4-0 defeats to Liverpool in May 2019 and FC Bayern München in April 2013).

Paris Saint-Germain’s heaviest ever defeat in the European Cup/UEFA Champions League was inflicted by Barcelona (6-1 at the Camp Nou in March 2017) – a result which eliminated them in the round of 16, despite having led 4-0 from the first leg. Barcelona were managed by current Paris Saint-Germain boss Luis Enrique in that historic comeback, which remains the only time a team has progressed from a two-legged knockout stage tie in the European Cup/UEFA Champions League after losing the first leg by 4+ goals.

This will be Barcelona’s first game in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League since August 2020, when they suffered their heaviest ever defeat in European competition (8-2 v FC Bayern München). They’ve only progressed from the quarter-finals in one of their last five attempts (2018-19 v Manchester United).

Following victories in both round of 16 games against Real Sociedad, Luis Enrique could become just the second Paris Saint-Germain manager to win his first three knockout stage games in the UEFA Champions League, after Laurent Blanc in 2013-14.

Only Thomas Müller (8) and Andriy Shevchenko (5) have scored more UEFA Champions League goals against Barcelona than Paris Saint-Germain’s Kylian Mbappé (4), despite the Frenchman only facing them twice in the competition. Indeed, Mbappé is the only player in the competition’s history to score a hat-trick against Barcelona in the knockout stages (three goals in February 2021, in the round of 16).

Barcelona’s Ilkay Gündogan has made more passes breaking the opposition’s defensive line than any other player in the UEFA Champions League this season (19). The German midfielder has also made three assists in the competition in 2023-24, with Jordi Alba in 2018-19 (5) the last Barcelona player to make more in a single campaign.

91% of Kylian Mbappé’s touches in the UEFA Champions League this season have come while under pressure from an opposition player; the highest percentage in the current tournament (min. 50 touches). Indeed, the Paris Saint-Germain attacker has made more key passes under pressure than any other forward in the competition this term (15).

Should he remain in the starting XI from the previous round, Pau Cubarsí would become the youngest defender to start a UEFA Champions League quarter-final match (17y 79d on the day of the game). Against Napoli last time out in the competition, Cubarsí was the Barcelona player with the highest pass completion rate (90% - 61/68) and the most line-breaking passes (14).