This Wednesday, October 1st, Paris Saint-Germain will face FC Barcelona at the Montjuïc Stadium (kick-off at 9 pm, CET), in the second matchday of the 2025-2026 Champions League. And as before every match, here is a preview of the Parisians’ opponent.
FC Barcelona’s situation –
Barça is, of course, a very great and historic club, and even when it goes through a “crisis” period, it is always among the top teams in La Liga, and can even have successful campaigns in Europe. This has been the case recently, and Barça has performed well, despite still having financial issues to resolve.
On the sporting side, the arrival of coach Hansi Flick in the summer of 2024 has been quite successful. Last year, with an often attractive attacking style of play, he won La Liga and the Copa del Rey, while narrowly missing out on a Champions League final berth.
This season has started very well, with first place in La Liga (6 wins and 1 draw) and a 2-1 victory against Newcastle in the first matchday.
The 2025 summer transfer window –
Source: Transfermarkt.
Departures:
Arrivals:
Key statistics –
This season, Barça has the best attack in La Liga with 21 goals scored (second-placed Real Madrid has 16, and last-placed Real Oviedo and Celta Vigo have 2), and one of the best defenses with 5 goals conceded (like Villarreal; last-placed Girona has 16).
Barça’s top scorer is Robert Lewandowski (37 years old), with 4 goals, placing him among the top 3 in the league (the top scorer in La Liga is Kylian Mbappé with 8 goals). Lamine Yamal (18-year-old forward) is the top assister for the Catalan club with 3 assists, and he is among the top 3 in La Liga (Luis Milla and Vinicius lead with 4 assists each).
Barça’s last 5 matches –
Only Barcelona’s possession statistics are shown, and Barcelona’s shots are listed first (when data is available).
09/14/2025 (La Liga) – Barcelona/Valencia: 6-0. 4-2-3-1 formation. 73% possession. 24 shots (10 on target) vs. 2 shots (1 on target)
09/18/2025 (Champions League) – Newcastle/Barcelona: 1-2. 4-2-3-1 formation. 65% possession. 19 shots (5 on target) vs. 10 shots (6 on target)
09/21/2025 (La Liga) – Barcelona/Getafe: 3-0. 4-3-3 formation. 71% possession. 16 shots (7 on target) vs. 3 shots (2 on target)
09/25/2025 (La Liga) – Real Oviedo/Barcelona: 1-3. 4-2-3-1 formation. 80% possession. 22 shots (10 on target) vs. 7 shots (3 on target)
09/28/2025 (La Liga) – Barcelona/Real Sociedad: 2-1. 4-2-3-1 formation. 75% possession. 22 shots (12 on target) vs. 7 shots (2 on target)
Probable starting lineup (4-3-3):
Lewandowski
Rashford – Olmo – Yamal
Pedri – De Jong
Martin – Cubarsi – Araujo – Koundé
Szczęsny
Barcelona’s style of play:
Without a doubt, Hansi Flick favors an attacking style of play. Preferably, with possession of the ball and a high tempo. This approach allows them to play with a high defensive line, effectively trapping opponents in an offside position. This can help stifle the opposition’s attack. However, there are some vulnerabilities in this system, which could prove costly if PSG are playing well. An adjustment to their tactics is certainly possible, although it’s unlikely that Barcelona and their German coach will abandon their core philosophy.
