Barcelona have scored 48 goals in 11 games and won every one. Hansi Flick now takes that attack to Paris, where he’ll have to replace two defenders against the champions of Europe.
Tuesday’s meeting at the Parc des Princes brings together two teams with six points from their opening two games in the league phase. PSG begin as consecutive Champions League winners, with ten goals already in this season’s competition to Barcelona’s nine. Kickoff is 3 p.m. ET on October 20.
The immediate complication for Flick is the back line. Jules Koundé’s ankle sprain and Eric Garcia’s thigh injury rule both out. Flick has identified Rodri and Frenkie de Jong as possible cover in defense. Using either would also change the midfield available to resist PSG’s pressure.
Barcelona haven’t kept a clean sheet in their last 17 Champions League games. Saturday’s 5–2 win at Betis offered another warning: they were only 3–2 ahead before Facundo Bernal’s red card, and Abde had already run clear to score. PSG could exploit similar openings behind the defense.
PSG have their own adjustment to make. Nuno Mendes is out with a thigh injury, taking away one of their outlets on the left. Lamine Yamal’s growing influence at Barcelona now includes one goal and four assists in two Champions League appearances this season.
The space behind the press
Luis Enrique’s answer to the Yamal problem begins with PSG’s own possession. Keeping the ball limits the opportunities Barcelona have to find him against a defender. The PSG coach also acknowledged how difficult that is against another team determined to control the game.
The most consequential pass may come from Pedri or Vitinha before either attack reaches the penalty area. Escaping pressure gives a team the chance to attack while opponents are still facing the wrong way. If Rodri is needed at center-back, Flick would also have to adjust the midfield around Pedri.
PSG demonstrated the danger in their 2–1 win away to Barcelona in October 2025. Their combinations brought Mendes forward for one goal, while Vitinha released Achraf Hakimi beyond Barcelona’s back line in the move that produced the winner. Barcelona’s replacement defenders need to judge those runs without retreating so far that their midfield loses support.
Ousmane Dembélé has scored three of PSG’s ten Champions League goals and supplied the assist for three more. Raphinha’s 12 league goals give Barcelona another finishing threat alongside Yamal’s creation. Flick has left open the possibility of starting him in Paris.
Ferran Torres supplies another familiar threat. The former Barcelona forward joined PSG in August and has already won Ligue 1’s September player-of-the-month award. He gives Luis Enrique another attacking option with experience of both clubs.
PSG arrive on six straight wins in all competitions, although Matvey Safonov’s seven saves for their rotated side at Strasbourg show they haven’t removed the danger at the other end. Both sides will need enough players in position to slow their opponent after losing the ball.
Flick is one win from 100 as Barcelona coach, with a home Clásico to follow on Sunday. His team has spent 11 games proving how much damage it can do with the ball. Making it 12 straight in Paris may depend on how quickly that same team can get organized when it loses possession.
