Barcelona vs. PSG: Tactical Preview of Champions League Game
Paris Saint-Germain face the nearly insurmountable task of overturning a 3-1 deficit at the Camp Nou against Barcelona on Tuesday. Laurent Blanc must find a way to definitively outmanoeuvre Luis Enrique, but how on Earth do you score three without reply against Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar?
Barcelona News
Barcelona played a reserve side against Valencia this weekend and smuggled a 2-0 victory from the fixture, paving the way for fresher stars to come in and see out the job here.
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Ivan Rakitic, a key component for Barca, will reclaim his place in midfield, and if Andres Iniesta can't make the game due to a niggling injury, Xavi could step in after impressing off the bench at the Parc des Princes.
Dani Alves will return from suspension and come in for Martin Montoya at right-back, while Enrique has a difficult choice to make with regard to who plays centre-back out of Jeremy Mathieu, Gerard Pique and Javier Mascherano.
Paris Saint-Germain News
Per WhoScored.com, Thiago Motta and Thiago Silva will both miss the second leg at the Camp Nou due to injury and Serge Aurier is still suspended.
That leaves Blanc with his hands tied at the back but alleviates concerns up front, as Zlatan Ibrahimovic returns to try to overturn a serious deficit. Marco Verratti will return to give the midfield some control, while Javier Pastore will find a new home in the middle alongside Blaise Matuidi.
With Ibrahimovic back, Edinson Cavani will be pushed to the wing—unless, of course, he's dropped after that very poor performance at the Parc des Princes last week. Lucas Moura and Ezequiel Lavezzi may be preferred to the Uruguayan.
Key Point 1: Start (Much) Quicker
PSG's odd, lethargic approach to the first half of the first leg cannot be repeated. They need to engage higher up, force the issue and, to put it bluntly, score three goals without reply at the Camp Nou.
They sank into a deep defensive formation at the Parc des Princes last week and didn't bother to press the midfielders and centre-backs in possession. They sat there and watched Barca pull them around, sending Jordi Alba forward to create left-sided overloads and feeding the ball to Messi under no pressure.
From the first whistle, Matuidi and Pastore need to be in Barca's faces. Matuidi, in particular, is very adept at edging forward from his flat midfield role and into a faux No. 10 position, following the striker's lead and providing the second effort from deeper.
Creating turnovers high up and attacking the gaps Barcelona leave—be it behind Alba or behind the midfield—is key. They also, quite obviously, need to take every chance they get.
Key Point 2: A Case For Starting Xavi
Paris Saint-Germain are undoubtedly going to try to take control of this match—they have to—and while another win for Barca would please the crowd, there's no real reason to open this game up and give PSG a chance.
Instead, clever game management can kill off any faint hopes of an upset, and Barcelona have one of the greatest-ever game managers in Xavi in the ranks.
His poise and calm temperament helped close out the first leg and ensured the hosts couldn't up the ante. Pastore, Matuidi and Co. thrive on high-tempo football, allowing them to exhibit their physical, direct skills, and Xavi can kill off the enthusiasm with strategic periods of possession to slow the play.
It's a little negative, but Barca's only job is to see this out and reach the semi-finals. Xavi did struggle to contain Valencia this weekend, but the fault lies with Enrique after a very weird team selection.
