With closing in on the LaLiga table & a serendipitous comeback in the Copa Del Rey, FC Barcelona have been playing some fine football over the last few games & we believe that the team has the ability to defy the odds against PSG tonight. Here’s how:
After a 4-1 victory over the Blaugrana in the first leg at Camp Nou, PSG of course has marked themselves more confident to partake in the second leg at their home, in Paris tonight. With Araujo & Piqué out ahead of the second leg, Koeman’s starting XI will have a huge responsibility at hand at the Parc des Princes tonight.
Studying the options FC Barcelona has at hand, we believe the team might go ahead with a 4-3-3 formation to give more assurance to their defence with Lenglet & Mingueza as their centre backs & Alba running down the left flank with Dest on the right. Busquets’ work rate will be questioned majorly because of his pace. But his vision & composure can get us some stability in the first 20 minutes. So even though he starts, we believe he should be replaced with Puig/Ilaix in the early minutes of the second half.
Having said that, considering we need early goals a 3-5-2 which has worked extremely well for us lately cannot be completely ruled out as well. Koeman needs to be credited for the confidence he has deployed in Dest and Alba to play as outright fullbacks. This formation gives them more width to penetrate in the final third but again is a very risky thing to pull considering our centre consisting of Lenglet & Busquets lack pace. With Neymar out for the clash, the only probable threat which Barca has to manage is Mbappé & Verratti. The last time they played, they ran riot at the Nou Camp.
Griezmann & Dembélé must convert sitters into goals, attacking in the final third has to be cynical & Leo has to produce more than he is supposed to. Don’t forget, the Blaugranas don’t just have to score 4 goals past the PSG defence (with Keylor Navas guarding the net), they also have to ensure that they don’t concede any in order to keep their Champions League dream alive.
A remontada or a comeback might sound unlikely but nevertheless, we do expect a high competing Barça with strong determination to play the highest level of football tonight.
In case you’ve forgotten….‘1% chance 99% faith’
