Paris Saint-Germain vs Barcelona Betting Tips

FC Barcelona travels to Parc de Princes and challenges PSG on 11 March 2021 at 01.30 AM IST after a 4-1 defeat at home in the first leg. Since then Barca has performed well posting four wins and one draw across all competitions. PSG has also been on a dream run with three wins in a row beating Brest 3-0 in their last match. 

PSG Form & Team News

PSG, who currently stands second on the Ligue 1 table behind Lille with 60 points has won all of their last 5 home games and lost only one of their last five Champions League games that includes the 4-1 away win against FC Barcelona in Camp Nou. They have hit prime form lately and are expected to give tough competition to Barca. They finished at the top of group H with 12 points ahead of Leipzig on the head to head record. They have scored 17 goals and conceded just seven goals in the Champions League.

PSG will be missing the services of Kean, Bernat, Neymar, and Florenzi for the home leg but good depth in the squad will prove useful. Neymar has been the top scorer for PSG in UCL with 6 goals and he will be missing out. Mbappe has also netted 5 goals in UCL and will be on the radar of the Barca defenders. PSG’s defense has been a bit vulnerable and has conceded 7 goals in the 7 matches they played this season. PSG is known for the goals they score and have been scoring at an average of 2.4 this season with 3.6 big chances created per game making them the favorites for this match. 

FC Barcelona Form & Team News

FC Barcelona has only lost one of their group games in UCL and finished second. FC Barcelona has maintained a clean sheet in the last four of their La Liga matches and has scored at an average of 2.2 this season. They are placed second in the league table with 56 points. Players have returned to form at the correct time for Barca and are expected to put up a decent fight against PSG. Barcelona finished in second place with 15 points just behind Juventus on the head to head record.

Ansu Fati, Sergi Roberto, Coutinho, Pique, and Araujo are not available for the match. Lionel Messi is the player to watch out for in this match. He has been in excellent form and has netted 19 goals in LaLiga and 4 in the UCL and also has 2 assists to his name in UCL. Messi is also the current leading scorer in LaLiga. FC Barcelona is having a rollercoaster of a season after the big defeat against Bayern in the semi-final last season and a change in the management. Ronald Koeman has only won 1 game out of 8 against a Pochettino side. Koeman is expected to put up a similar lineup that started against Osasuna over the weekend. 

Odds by Casumo

According to the Casumo sportsbook, PSG is the favorite to win the match. They are placed at 2.16 odds, while FC Barcelona is placed at 2.95 and the draw is at 4.20.

Check out our Champions League Odds Here

Our Tipster’s Angle

Both the teams played well in the group stage and qualified for the round of 16 with ease. But FC Barcelona looks outmatched against PSG, even though they are missing out on their top scorer Neymar. Barcelona has won only one of their last nine away games in UCL and they have to win by a margin of 4 goals or more to qualify for the quarter-finals or win on away goals which is going to be challenging against the last-time runners up. Thus, PSG is expected to win this match. 

Tip 1: Total Goals – Over 3.5

Both teams have scored 17 goals in UCL this season averaging 2.4 per match and out of the last 7 matches they have played against each other, they have scored 3 or more goals in 6 encounters. The last leg of this fixture finished 4-1 in favor of PSG with Kylian Mbappe scoring a hattrick. Also, he is the current top scorer in the France Ligue 1 with 18 goals this season. With both Messi and Mbappé on the field, a good amount of goals are expected in this match. Barcelona is expected to go all out on attack as they are chasing a 3 goal lead on aggregate which may lead to a weaker defense. PSG is known for preying on these kinds of situations and is expected to enjoy a goal or two. With both teams having great attacking players, the total goals in the match are expected to be over 3.50, and 2.02 odds are available for the same on the Casumo sportsbook.

Tip 2: PSG To Win

Though PSG has only won 3 out of their 7 matches against FC Barcelona, they are favorites in the game because of their recent form. PSG has scored 34 home goals this season in League 1 and has conceded only 8 goals. The current aggregate score of 4-1 with 4 away goals is in favor of the home team as well. FC Barcelona is expected to go full-on attack, with Pique injured and a weaker defense that conceded 9 goals in 7 UCL matches this season, the defense is expected to be penetrated multiple times. Also, Barcelona has only won one of their last 9 away knockout UCL games which makes PSG favorites in this leg. Considering all these factors, PSGis the favorite to win against FC Barcelona, and 2.16 odds are available for the same on the Casumo sportsbook.

Conclusion

It is going to be a thrilling 90 minutes or maybe more as two big clubs collide this Thursday. Barca made a comeback in 2017 by winning 6-1 at home after a 4-0 defeat in the away game against PSG. Can we expect something similar this Thursday? Or the French giants PSG going to cruise over Barca just as they did in the first leg? Either way, it is going to be a worthwhile watch.  Summarizing a couple of bets mentioned above.

1. Total Goals – Over 3.5 @ 2.02
2. PSG To Win @ 2.16

Check out our Champions League Odds Here