Big Match Feature: Barca v PSG

Form guide (all competitions)

Barca: WWWWWW

PSG: WDWWWW

Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain's attacking riches carry fearsome reputations but, as they vie for top spot in Group F, both coaches are stating the case for the defence.

Both clubs have already booked their place in the last 16 and Paris, who have a one-point advantage, need only avoid defeat to hold on to top spot.

The match brings Laurent Blanc, the Paris coach and one-time Barcelona player, back to the Camp Nou while Thiago Motta, Maxwell and Zlatan Ibrahimovic also return.

Permutations: Barcelona (12pts) v Paris (13)

Paris are through and will win the group with a draw.

Barcelona are through and will win the group with a victory.

Previous meetings

Barcelona beat Paris on away goals after two draws – 2-2 at Parc des Princes, 1-1 at the Camp Nou – in the 2012/13 quarterfinals.

Barcelona's only win in six games against Paris was their 1-0 triumph in the 1996/97 Uefa Cup Winners' Cup final. Luis Enrique played for Barcelona but Blanc, then a Barça player, did not feature in the final.

Prior to beating Barcelona 3-2 on matchday two, the Parisian club's only victory over the Blaugrana had been a 2-1 home success in the 1994/95 Uefa Champions League quarterfinals (3-2 agg).

The line-ups for the second leg in Barcelona on 10 April 2013 were:

Barcelona: Valdés, Daniel Alves, Piqué, Adriano (Bartra 62), Alba, Xavi, Busquets, Iniesta, Villa (Song 84), Fàbregas (Messi 62), Pedro.

PSG: Sirigu, Jallet (Van der Wiel 88), Alex, Thiago Silva, Maxwell, Lucas, Verratti (Beckham 83), Motta, Pastore, Ibrahimovic, Lavezzi (Gameiro 81).

Match facts

Barcelona

Alves and Rafinha are both suspended on matchday six.

Rakitic, Iniesta, Pedro and Rafinha all scored in the 4-0 victory over third-tier SD Huesca in the first leg of the last 32 Copa del Rey tie on 3 December.

Iniesta was making his first appearance since injuring his calf in the Clásico defeat by Real Madrid CF on 26 October. Douglas made his first appearance since September's Blaugrana debut against Málaga CF because of a foot problem.

Messi surpassed Raúl González's competition best of 71 Uefa Champions League goals with his matchday five hat-trick, taking his total to 74.

On Sunday, Barcelona came from a goal down to beat city rivals RCD Espanyol 5-1, Messi scoring his 29th hat-trick for the club. The forward's first-half goal was his 400th career Barça strike in both official games and friendlies.

Before the weekend, Neymar had been outscoring Messi in the Liga this term, 11 goals to ten. The last season the Argentinian was not Barcelona's top scorer was 2008/09, when the then 21-year-old was second (with 23 goals) to Samuel Eto'o (30).

The Catalan club have conceded just seven times in the Liga this season, five fewer than Madrid and Club Atlético de Madrid, who jointly hold the next best defensive record.

Thomas Vermaelen has been ruled out of action until April after undergoing surgery to treat a persistent hamstring problem.

Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Manuel Neuer make up the shortlist for the Fifa Ballon d'Or, with the winner announced on 12 January.

PSG

Paris are the only team from Europe's top five domestic leagues yet to suffer a defeat in all competitions this season.

Ibrahimovic struck twice on Saturday as Paris came from behind to win 2-1 at home to FC Nantes. That took him to 87 goals for Paris, moving him clear of Safet Sušic in fifth on the club's all-time list. Pauleta (109), Dominique Rocheteau (100), Mustapha Dahleb (100) and François M'Pelé (95) are the only men to have scored more for the French side.

Edinson Cavani has scored eight goals in his last ten appearances for Paris.

Paris's streak of nine successive wins ended with a 1-1 draw at LOSC Lille on 3 December.

Ibrahimovic's penalty in the win against OGC Nice on 29 November was his first Ligue 1 goal since a hat-trick against AS Saint-Étienne on 31 August.

Paris's 92percent pass completion rate is the highest in the Uefa Champions League alongside Barcelona, FC Bayern München and FC Schalke 04.

Match background

Barcelona

Barcelona have not failed to win their Uefa Champions League group since 2006/07, but need a victory to extend this sequence to an eighth season.

Including their 3-1 success against AFC Ajax on matchday three, Barcelona have lost just one of their last 29 Uefa Champions League home matches, winning 22.

Barcelona's record against French sides at the Camp Nou is W5 D2 L1. Their most recent victory over Ligue 1 opponents was the 5-2 second-leg win over Olympique Lyonnais in the 2008/09 round of 16, in which Lionel Messi scored their third goal.

PSG

Including this season's draw at Ajax (1-1) and victory at Apoel (1-0), the French champions have lost just two of their last 11 Uefa Champions League away games, winning seven.

Paris' record in Spain is W4 D3 L3. Their last victory came in the 2012/13 round of 16 when Ezequiel Lavezzi and Javier Pastore struck in a 2-1 win at Valencia CF.

Luis Enrique, Barcelona coach

Our aim is clear – we want to win and PSG want the same. They are one of the contenders to win the competition and it'll be a demanding match, defensively speaking, for us. I would prefer to finish first in the group to gain a slight advantage in the next round.

PSG beat us without [Zlatan] Ibrahimovic. Their squad is strong enough not to depend on any particular player, but with Zlatan in their squad they are even more dangerous. We know our mistakes in Paris cost us dearly so we have to try not to do the same.

Ibrahimovic is a top player. If he's at his best he's difficult to stop. If we can defend as a block, fewer balls will reach Ibra. He can decide a match at any given moment, which is why he's a top player. It helps that some of the players here were with him at Barcelona a few years back. It's an advantage but football changes constantly. We will pay special attention to Ibra and also [Edinson] Cavani.

PSG are at the same level as the top European clubs, one of the favourites for the trophy. They are already proving what they can do in their league.

Laurent Blanc, PSG coach

The quality of our play is important but tomorrow we are up against one of the best teams in Europe. In the first leg we did well but they kept us pegged back in the second half. Barcelona are going to have 70percent possession; when we have the ball we have to score.

We are both more relaxed because we're through but we know what awaits us. We will try to defend well, play very much together and avoid problems. When we have the ball we have to make the most of it. All opponents face Barcelona on the defensive. I won't lie and say we have come here to dominate possession.

It's a match for prestige but there is a difference between finishing first and second in the group. It'll be a difficult game. We are aware that Barcelona have several Champions League titles to their name so we have to win games like these.

We know the advantage finishing top brings. You avoid certain opponents and all these details count in the long run. I have told my players to be ambitious and aggressive, to put Barcelona in a tight spot. We won't be fielding ten defenders. We simply have to defend. We will get chances to score though.

Coach and player links

Blanc and Luis Enrique played together at the Camp Nou during the former's solitary campaign there (1996/97).

Luis Enrique was in the Real Madrid CF side knocked out of Europe two years in a row by Paris: first in the 1992/93 Uefa Cup quarterfinals (3-1 h, 1-4 a), then in the 1993/94 Uefa Cup Winners' Cup quarterfinals (0-1 h, 1-1 a).

Blanc was in charge of the France side beaten 2-0 by Spain in the Uefa EURO 2012 quarterfinals. Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets, Gerard Piqué, Xavi, Andrés Iniesta and Pedro Rodríguez all featured.

Ibrahimovic spent 2009/10 at Barcelona, winning four trophies and scoring 16 goals in 29 Liga outings.

Academy product Motta made 96 Liga appearances for Barcelona, scoring six goals. He won two Spanish titles and was an unused substitute for their 2006 Uefa Champions League final win.

Maxwell made 57 Liga appearances for Barcelona (2009–12) and won two league titles but was not involved in the 2011 Uefa Champions League final.

Ivan Rakitic lost 3-1 with Croatia against David Luiz and Thiago Silva's Brazil in the 2014 Fifa World Cup's opening match.

Luiz scored a goal and put a penalty past Claudio Bravo to help Brazil beat Chile on spot kicks after a 1-1 draw in the World Cup round of 16.

Silva headed an added-time equaliser for AC Milan in a 2-2 draw at Barcelona on the opening night of the 2011/12 Uefa Champions League.

Yohan Cabaye, Lucas Digne and Blaise Matuidi played in France's 1-0 home friendly victory over a Spain side including Busquets and Pedro on 4 September.

Marc Bartra and Martín Montoya helped Spain win the 2013 Uefa European Under-21 Championship final 4-2 against Marco Verratti's Italy.

Motta, Salvatore Sirigu and Gregory van der Wiel have lost major finals against Spain – Motta and unused substitute Sirigu with Italy (0-4, Uefa EURO 2012) and Van der Wiel with the Netherlands (0-1, 2010 World Cup).

Possible line-ups

Barcelona: Ter Stegen; Adriano, Piqué, Mathieu, Jordi Alba; Busquets, Xavi, Iniesta; Suárez, Messi, Neymar.

Out: Vermaelen (hamstring), Rafinha (suspended), Alves (suspended)

PSG: Sirigu, Van der Wiel, Thiago Silva, David Luiz, Maxwell; Verratti, Motta, Matuidi; Pastore, Ibrahimovic, Cavani.

Out: Bahebeck (thigh)