One of the ties of this round of Champions League matches sees an in-form Barcelona side host last season's winners, Paris Saint-Germain.
Wednesday's meeting is the 16th in major European competitions, and just one win separates the sides. Barcelona have won on six occasions, PSG have triumphed five times with four games drawn.
Luis Enrique returns to his former club
Luis Enrique managed the Catalans to three straight wins over PSG back in 2014/15 but since then, the Catalans have won just two of their last six (D1, L3).
The last two games played in Barcelona have both been won 4-1 by PSG, and if they emerge victorious this time round, they'll be the first team in history to win three consecutive away games against Barcelona in major European competition.
The Spaniard goes back to his former club once again but has only won one of his previous four meetings with his former employers - that 4-1 victory in April 2024 when the French giants came back from a 3-2 first-leg deficit in the quarter-final first-leg, and from going one nil down in the second-leg, to win 6-4 on aggregate.
Ronald Araujo's red card in that game undoubtedly turned the tie in PSG's favour, with another ex-Barca man, Ousmane Dembele, equalising before the break, and Kylian Mbappe's double helping to seal the victory for the Parisians.
Dembele heads PSG injury list
Mbappe has moved on to Real Madrid of course, whilst the recently crowned Ballon d'Or, Dembele, isn't fit for this match.
He'll likely be the biggest miss for Luis Enrique too, because his 40 combined goal involvements in all competitions in 2025 (29 goals, 11 assists) is only behind Harry Kane (44) and Mbappe (42).
Joining him on the sidelines are exciting youngster, Desire Doue, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and captain Marquinhos, whilst the player who makes things tick for PSG, Vitinha, is in the squad but doubtful after being subbed off in the recent fixture against Auxerre.
PSG do have the likes of Bradley Barcola and Nuno Mendes to trouble the hosts when they go forward however, and they may also look to their prowess at set pieces in order to win the game.
Both of their goals against Auxerre came from corners, and PSG have scored four times from set pieces in six French top-flight games this season. With a combined scoreline of 9-0 in their last two Champions League games too, the Parisiens are still likely to take some stopping.
Barcelona missing three key men
Barcelona have injury concerns themselves, with Raphinha definitely out, along with keeper Joan Garcia, who has made a brilliant impact since joining from Espanyol.
Gavi has had to undergo further knee surgery and will miss a large part of the current campaign as a result, whilst Lamine Yamal only returned from injury with a cameo appearance against Real Sociedad at the weekend and so may not be risked for the entire 90 minutes.
He showed his importance against La Real with an assist for Robert Lewandowski just a minute after coming on, and since the start of last season only Mo Salah's 26 assists in all competitions are more than Lamine's 24 (Raphinha also has 24).
Furthermore, in his last 18 competitive matches for club and country, the youngster has an astonishing 18 goal involvements (8G, 10A).
This game is also one where Lewandowski needs to be amongst the goals, but the Polish international has only scored once against PSG back in 2017 for Bayern Munich. Indeed, his goals ratio against them is the worst of any team he's played in the Champions League.
Goals galore expected
The two teams could well have met in last season's final of course had Barcelona overcome Inter Milan in the semi-finals after two epic matches.
Given that Hansi Flick's side had already scored 43 goals in the competition - the most of any team - and PSG had bagged 38 of their own, there's a belief that the showpiece would've been much closer than the French champions' eventual 5-0 romp.
Pedri was then, and continues to be, the conduit through which all good things come for Barcelona.
Against Newcastle on matchday one for example, he provided a game high of 20 line-breaking passes of which four broke the hosts’ defensive line, both the most by any midfielder from any of that week's fixtures.
With Frenkie de Jong also providing a sterling work ethic alongside the cultured Spaniard, if either can get a foothold in the game early on, it could provide the platform for Barcelona to take the game to the reigning champions.
Rashford or Torres?
Depending on the set-up that Flick wishes to employ, he could plump for two-goal hero against Newcastle, Marcus Rashford, to play out wide once again, or he may decide to start the more instinctive Ferran Torres.
With both in reasonable goalscoring form and playing well more generally, it could be the manager's most difficult squad decision of the day.
If previous encounters are anything to go by the match is certainly set up to be another classic despite the absences, and another win for either side at this early stage will put them amongst the front runners in the league stage of the competition.
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