Barcelona vs PSG: UEFA Champions League – team news, start time and lineups

Who: Paris Saint-Germain vs. Barcelona
What: League phase, UEFA Champions League
Where: Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys, in Barcelona, Spain
When: Wednesday, October 1, at 9pm (19:00 GMT)
How to follow: We’ll have all the build-up on Al Jazeera Sport from 16:00 GMT in advance of our live text commentary stream.

When Paris Saint-Germain, who are currently defending champions, travels to the Olympic Stadium on Wednesday to take on five-time champion Barcelona, two of Europe’s top super teams will square off in the opening leg of a Matchday 2 UEFA Champions League (UCL) game.

recent form of Barcelona

The Catalans won the match 2-1 thanks to Jules Kounde and Robert Lewandowski turning the tables on either side of halftime with goals that scored either side of halftime to lift them above La Liga.

The reigning champions now have 19 points, one point ahead of Real Madrid, with their sixth win in seven games.

“It was a team victory,” the statement read. They were well-versed in the game, and it was difficult, but Barcelona deserved it, according to coach Hansi Flick.

Barcelona also defeated Barcelona at home in Champions League games to end the 2024-25 season.

recent form of PSG

At the top of the French Ligue 1, PSG are 15 points clear of Lyon.

Their only defeat of the season came on September 22 when they lost to Marseille, winning 1-0. Nayef Aguerd’s opener from close range was the club’s first league victory away from PSG since 2011.

PSG’s early-season injuries

Injury problems have hampered PSG’s new European campaign, with Ousmane Dembele, a superstar striker and 2025 Ballon d’Or winner, playing until mid-October with a right hamstring strain.

Both Desire Doue, a highly skilled attacking player, and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, a fellow winger, are out until at least early October with a right calf strain, which will further devastate the PSG front line.

What transpired during Barcelona’s most recent encounter with PSG?

The last time the two teams met was on April 16, 2024, when PSG won a stunning comeback against Barcelona 4-1 away in the second leg of their Champions League quarterfinal, clinching a spot in the 2023-24 tournament with a 6-4 aggregate victory.

In one of Raphinha’s final games, PSG advanced to the semifinals against Borussia Dortmund thanks to Ronald Araujo’s sending off before goals from Ousmane Dembele, Vitinha, and Kylian Mbappe’s brace in one of the Frenchman’s final appearances for the club.

On April 10, 2024, PSG’s Ousmane Dembele, left, makes a shot at goal against Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen during the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal encounter at the Parc des Princes Stadium in Paris.

In the 2024-2019 season, how many titles did PSG win?

The Paris club won four major awards, including the UEFA Champions League, Coupe de France, Trophee des Champions, and Ligue 1, to cap off the team’s 55-year history.

In the June FIFA Club World Cup, they also finished second to Chelsea.

news from the Barcelona team

The Brazilian winger, who has a hamstring injury, is the biggest name that Flick’s home side has missed. Raphinha is the biggest player.

Joan Garcia (knee), Gavi (knee), Fermin Lopez (back), and Marc-Andre ter Stegen (back), the first-choice goalkeeper, are also absent.

In the starting XI, Wojciech Szczesny will replace Ter Stegen, with Gerald Martin most likely to fill in Garcia’s place.

Star winger Lamine Yamal is expected to make his debut for the Catalans for the first time since suffering a groin injury for four games as a huge bonus. In the team’s Sunday victory over Real Sociedad, he started in place.

PSG team news

With wing scoring threat Doue and talisman forward Dembele out with injuries since early September, coach Luis Enrique will have few offensive options.

The scoring burden will fall on French international Bradley Barcola, who will take the place of Kvaratskhelia, who is also unable to play.

Marquinhos, a center-back from Brazil, will also miss the game with a left thigh issue.

Enrique had some good news to report on Tuesday that Joao Neves and Vitinha, who had previously been injured and who was third in the Ballon d’Or earlier this month, were both named.

Lamine Yamal in action. — Lamine Yamal, center, returned to the Barcelona starting lineup for the first time in a month and played a key role in their 2-1 victory over Real Sociedad on Sunday.

Barcelona’s starting lineup is anticipated

Szczesny (goalkeeper), Kounde, Cubarsi, Araujo, Martin, Pedri, De Jong, Yamal, Olmo, Rashford, Lewandowski, and Zack o’Brien.

Starting lineup was predicted by PSG.

Chevalier (goalkeeper), Zabarnyi, Pacho, Mendes, Lee, Vitinha, Zaire-Emery, Mbaye, Ramos, Barcola

Head-to-head:

13 matches total
Barcelona defeats them 5-1.
PSG wins 4-3.
Draws – 4

Last five games:

PSG: W-W-W-L-W

What the coaches said:

Enrique (PSG): “Watching a game between Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain with five or six significant players from both teams not playing… to me it’s a shame, for the manager, [Hans] Flick, and for fans of both teams,” Enrique said.

Flick (Barcelona): “I think]the amount of injuries] is not normal for us, but some injuries just happen. We are looking at what we can do better, we will look at everything and every training, and we’ll see what [will] happen and if we have to adapt.”

What division of the UEFA Champions League will be playing in 2026?

The expanded league phase, which now includes 36 teams all ranked in a single big-league table, is in its second year. It replaced the previous group phase, which divided groups into smaller cohorts.

Each team plays eight games against rivals from other countries to determine the league standings overall.

After Matchday 8, the top eight teams advance to the knockout stage, and the teams placed between ninth and 24th place then participate in a two-legged playoff to reach the knockout stage. The tournament’s bottom 12 clubs are eliminated.