Barca aim to book semi-final spot as they host PSG
Barcelona will be aiming to book their spot in the semi-finals of the Champions League for the first time since the 2018-19 campaign when they welcome Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday night. Xavi‘s side will bring a narrow advantage into the second leg of their quarter-final at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys.
Barcelona
Barcelona’s form since Xavi announced that he would be standing down as head coach this summer has been excellent, going 13 games unbeaten in all competitions, recording 10 wins in the process.
Raphinha was the star of the show in Paris in the first leg, netting a brace, while Andreas Christensen came up with the winner in the 77th minute, so Barcelona will enter this fixture with a 3-2 advantage.
Head-to-head
Barcelona lead the overall head-to-head against PSG, boasting six wins to the French outfit’s four, but they suffered a 4-1 home loss to the capital giants in the last-16 first leg back in February 2021.
Xavi’s side will enter this match off the back of a 1-0 win over Cadiz in La Liga on Saturday, and they have been victorious in each of their last four in the Spanish league.
PSG, meanwhile, have not been in action since the first leg, with their last Ligue 1 game coming at home to Clermont on April 6, sharing the points in a 1-1 draw, which left them 10 points clear at the top of the table.
Unless something extraordinary happens, another Ligue 1 championship will be secured this season, but the Champions League is the trophy that this club really want, and it would be some story if a certain Kylian Mbappe could help the team win the competition as a parting gift.
PSG were last present in the semi-finals in 2020-21, while they made the final in 2019-20, but two of their last three tournaments have ended in the round of 16.
The capital outfit will be aware of the size of the task facing them against an in-form Barcelona, but this is the side of the draw that both sides would have wanted to have been in, as the winner will take on either Atletico Madrid or Borussia Dortmund for a position in the final.
Prediction
The first leg between the two sides was brilliant, and we are expecting plenty more entertainment on Tuesday night. PSG certainly have enough quality to turn this game around, but Barcelona have been boosted with the returns of some key players at a vital stage of the season, and we are expecting Xavi’s side to navigate their way into the semi-finals of the competition.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
Dortmund, Atletico Madrid go head-to-head today
Borussia Dortmund and Atletico Madrid will go head-to-head for a spot in the semi-finals of the Champions League on Tuesday night, with the pair locking horns in the second leg of their quarter-final.
Atletico have a narrow lead to protect, having recorded a 2-1 victory in the first leg at Wanda Metropolitano, but it is delicately poised ahead of what should be a fascinating contest at Signal Iduna Park.
Delicately poised
Dortmund were comfortably second-best in the first half of their quarter-final with Atletico, and goals from Rodrigo De Paul and Samuel Lino sent the Spanish team two goals ahead. Sebastien Haller came up with the away side’s goal in the 81st minute of the clash at Wanda Metropolitano, and it is now delicately poised, with Dortmund trailing in the tie but now having home advantage.
Dortmund have not progressed past the quarter-finals of the Champions League since famously reaching the final in 2012-13, ultimately losing 2-1 to Bundesliga rivals Bayern Munich, and they were knocked out of last season’s tournament in the round of 16 by Chelsea.
Dortmund were missing Jadon Sancho against Borussia Monchengladbach on Saturday due to illness, but the on-loan Manchester United attacker is expected to return to the side on Tuesday night.
Atletico will feel that they should have been out of sight in the first leg considering their dominance in the opening 45 minutes, and it remains to be seen whether they will be made to pay in the second leg.
Atletico failed to make it out of the group stage of last season’s Champions League, while they have not been past the final eight since featuring against Real Madrid in the semi-finals back in 2016-17.
Prediction
There is nothing to separate these two teams in the head-to-head record, with both posting three wins from their seven matches, while there has also been one draw.
It would not be a surprise to see Dortmund turn this one around on Tuesday, but there is just something about Atletico at this stage of the competition, and we are backing the Madrid giants to claim a draw, which would see them advance to the semi-finals of the Champions League once again.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
FIXTURES
Barcelona20:00Paris Saint Germain
Borussia Dortmund20:00Atlético Madrid
