Same Foe, Different Challenge as Barcelona Take on Unai Emery's PSG

Valentine's Day, in Paris. Sounds good, right? Except your date is that person that you just can't get away from, no matter how many times you keep leaving them behind.

Barcelona have drawn Paris Saint-Germain again, with the teams set to meet for the fifth and sixth times in three years.

They faced each other four times in the 2014-15 season, twice in their Champions League group and then twice more in the quarter-finals when they were paired up again by fate.

PSG won the first of those clashes in Paris, winning a thriller, 3-2, but Barcelona won the second, 3-1, at Camp Nou and topped the group before seeing off Laurent Blanc's side, 3-1, in Paris and then 2-0 back home to progress to the semi-finals and eventual glory.

The coach now is Unai Emery and the situation has changed for both teams but not for the better.

Arguably, both have regressed since they last met, although this season is still too young to pass a definitive judgment on that.

Manu Fernandez/Associated Press

Barcelona surged past PSG on their way to the treble, but they have stuttered this year, currently six points behind Real Madrid and yet to hit top form in any game, bar the 7-0 win over Celtic at home in the Champions League.

But while they are below their best, Emery has failed to get PSG firing with any consistency. They are currently third in the French top flight on 36 points, below both Nice on 40 and AS Monaco on 39.

PSG are without figurehead Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who joined Manchester United in the summer, and the team doesn't seem as menacing without the Swede causing trouble up front.

Patrick Kluivert, the former Barcelona striker and current PSG sporting director, spoke at the draw in Nyon, defending Emery. He said, per Sport:

"

The players are very happy with Emery's playing style, the tactics and the way of playing are very good but the results not so much. But we're doing well, we are third in the league and although we drew last time out we are on a good path.

In February when the UCL is back we have to be at our best. If you're not at your best when facing Barcelona we know the game can pass us by.

...

Barcelona know that this is not a game already won by them.

...

We are in this cup and we knew we could draw the best teams, like Barca, and we were picked against one of the strongest.

...

[Returning to Barcelona] It's a sensation you can't explain, a very strong feeling that I have. Barca are my second club. The first is Ajax, outside of Holland it's Barca. They're in my heart and people know it.

"

Aurelien Meunier/Getty Images

According to a source in the Barcelona camp, per Sport's Javier Miguel, the players were hoping to avoid Bayern Munich in the draw, out of the five available opponents.

Given some of the tricky draws they have had in recent years, it's understandable that some Blaugrana stars were apprehensive about what might happen on Monday lunchtime.

Miguel says PSG were considered manageable, albeit the second worst possible draw. He wrote: "Not even PSG are seen as a rival or enormous quality at the moment in comparison to recent seasons. They have dropped points in France and finished second to Arsenal in the group."

Barcelona's vice-president Jordi Mestre said the French champions were an "old acquaintance." He told beIN Sports, h/t Marca:

"

It's an old acquaintance, a team that is not easy at all.

So far we've done well, but every season is different.

In the Champions League there are no easy teams and they are a great team.

The coach knows us well, every game is different; the advantage is that we play at home [in the second leg].

It does not guarantee anything, but it does give us the confidence to have achieved it the other times. We are excited and want to win the tie.

"

LLUIS GENE/Getty Images

Even though both teams have changed, the expectations will be the same going into the tie, with Barcelona considered the stronger team and the one that should progress.

If anything, Emery being in charge is something that should soothe Barcelona, given he has only overcome Barcelona once in 23 games against the Catalans while he was coaching in Spain, with Almeria, Valencia and, most recently, Sevilla.

However, there will be plenty of pressure on PSG, too. The only reason they are facing Barcelona is because they blew their shot at winning Group A with an embarrassing 2-2 draw with minnows Ludogorets on Matchday 6.

Emery replaced Blanc when the Frenchman failed to drive PSG to glory in the Champions League so he knows this is the competition where he must excel to survive on the bench of the Parc des Princes.

PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi said, per the club's website:

"

Once again we have drawn FC Barcelona, a team we have a great deal of respect for. We played against them 6 times in the last 4 seasons so this is becoming a classic UEFA Champions League fixture. Barcelona are a team that our Spanish coach and players know well and we are excited about the prospect of facing them.

It will be two great matches and we will be ready for them at the Parc des Princes in February. With our fans behind us we are confident of progressing through to the next round of UEFA Champions League.

"

Emilio Morenatti/Associated Press

However, he would secretly have been cursing his luck. Paris Saint-Germain could have lucked out with Napoli or Leicester City—or anyone really—as Kluivert admitted. He told beInSports France, h/t Jonathan Johnson of ESPN: "If I had been able to pick another team to play against, I would have done so."

There will be subplots galore to explore, with the main one that comes to mind being Lionel Messi and his future.

Odds are that the Argentine star will renew his contract with Barcelona, but if there is a problem making a deal, then PSG will be one of the clubs ready to swoop. RTL France, h/t Marca, claimed in November that the French side were in touch with Messi's father.

By the time the Champions League clashes roll around—on February 14 in Paris, then March 8 in the Catalan capital—things could be different.

Both clubs will expect to change their situations in their respective leagues, and we could be seeing the leaders in France play the leaders in Spain.

Rik Sharma is Bleacher Report's lead Barcelona correspondent. All information and quotes obtained firsthand unless specified. Follow him on Twitter here: @riksharma_.