PSG vs. Barcelona is the biggest test of the season so far for the Catalans. Back-to-back European champions Paris Saint-Germain host a Barça side that has won every game this season, at the Parc des Princes on Tuesday.
Barca’s Flawless Start
Barcelona beat Real Betis 5-2 on Saturday in what looked like their toughest game yet. Betis fought hard, but Barça finished relentlessly to make it nine wins from nine in the league. The form carries into Europe too, with emphatic Champions League wins over Feyenoord and Galatasaray.
PSG Finding Form
Luis Enrique’s side, himself a former Barça player and coach, have won the last two Champions League titles and are hot favourites again. They have opened with two big wins: 6-1 over Slovan Bratislava and 4-2 away at Manchester City.
Their league start has been shakier. They drew their first two games and then lost 2-1 at home to Monaco. Since then they have won every match, and they sit among five teams level on 14 points at the top of Ligue 1.
A Modern Classic
This fixture has become one of European football’s great rivalries, with plenty of drama and attractive football from both sides. Everyone remembers the 6-1 comeback in 2017, but PSG have won the three meetings since:
2021 round of 16: Barça lost the first leg 4-1 at home.
2024 quarter-final: Barça won the first leg in Paris, then lost 4-1 at home to go out.
Last year’s league phase: Ferran Torres gave Barça an early lead, but Senny Mayulu and Gonçalo Ramos earned PSG a third straight win over them.
Familiar Faces
Torres will be involved again, this time on the other side after his summer move to Paris. He is not the only former blaugrana in the PSG ranks. Ousmane Dembélé, the current Ballon d’Or holder remains a huge threat, and Lucas Digne part of a defence usually seen as one of Europe’s strongest.
PSG have kept just one clean sheet in ten games this season, though, so questions are being asked about their defence. Like Barça, they are happy to concede as long as they score more. Their squad reads like a who’s who of European football, with Marquinhos, Vitinha, Désiré Doué, Achraf Hakimi, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and João Neves, and they make scoring look easy.
It is a massive test, but Hansi Flick and his players are relishing it. There are scores to settle with Les Rouge-et-Bleu. Winning their first 11 competitive games should already have convinced people of Barça’s potential, but a win in Paris would send the clearest message yet that FC Barcelona mean big business in 2026/27.
Team News
Barcelona
Andreas Christensen and Roony Bardghji were already injured.
Jules Kounde and Eric Garcia are new absentees after the Betis game.
Flick’s squad includes 18-year-old Barça Atlètic defender Àlex Campos, called up to the first team for the first time.
PSG
Nuno Mendes is out with a minor thigh problem.
Senny Mayulu, who scored at Spotify Camp Nou a year ago, is the only other major doubt.
Several key players were rested for the 3-1 win over Strasbourg at the weekend.