Hakimi is one of the best full backs in Europe and regularly flies forward, making him an appealing option to back to win fouls. He’s won four fouls across his four starts in Ligue 1 this season (0.81 per 90), and his record in the Champions League last term is particularly notable.

Hakimi won 23 fouls across his 17 appearances in the Champions League last season (1.34 per 90). This record, paired with the nine goal contributions he managed in the competition, shows how strong Hakimi is when it comes to getting forward and impacting the game, whether that be through winning fouls or registering goal contributions.

The Moroccan will be faced up by Marcus Rashford and Gerard Martin down his side of the pitch. Both players committed a foul on Matchday 1 of the league phase, where they were up against Anthony Elanga and Kieran Trippier. Barcelona ended up committing 12 fouls in that game, so they do have an aggressive side to them.

Yamal has been battling with an injury in recent weeks which caused him to miss the opening game of the Champions League campaign against Newcastle. He came off the bench in Barcelona’s 2-1 win over Real Sociedad last time out and registered an assist in his 32-minute cameo, showing the effectiveness of the 18-year-old.

He should be fit enough to start here and will relish the opportunity of taking on a PSG side which could be missing as many as six key players, mainly from the midfield and attacking setup which are the strongest elements of Luis Enrique’s side.

Yamal has spoken multiple times in interviews about wanting to shoot more often and score more goals. It’s probably the only real criticism that can be levelled at Yamal, that his level of talent should result in more goals - he netted just five in the Champions League last season, but he’s capable of nearing double digits. 

He’s scored twice across three starts already this season, managing 20 shots across those games (5.96 per 90) with seven finding the target (2.09 per 90).

Whenever Barcelona play, goals usually come. Hansi Flick’s side have scored 21 goals across their seven league games already this season (3.0 per game) which is a record that suggests that the home side could end up covering this line on their own here.

I did have a brief look at BTTS, but I’d prefer to back goals with the injuries that PSG are currently facing. They’ll be without Desire Doue and Ousmane Dembele for this game, as well as there being doubts around the fitness of Vitinha, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Fabian Ruiz and Joao Neves. I do think some of those players will start, but the biggest misses are in the PSG frontline, so they could be a bit blunted here. 

That being said, Luis Enrique will have a plan in place and be actively aware of the high line that Barcelona play, which can be comical at times. PSG should get a few chances if they are direct, which is what may be the preferred method of the former Barcelona boss, as he is missing his best players in the final third.

Barcelona have seen over 2.5 goals in seven of their eight matches across all competitions this season, including their opening game of the league phase campaign against Newcastle. They’ve only kept three clean sheets across this period, so it’s fair to say that Barcelona’s focus is on outscoring the opposition rather than defensive stability.

I can’t see PSG getting a positive result here with the players that are missing from the side. Of the 11 players that started the Champions League final against Inter a few months ago, seven are doubts for this game. Doue and Dembele are confirmed as injured for this encounter but the entirety of the midfield, which is crucial to Luis Enrique’s style, all face late fitness tests for this clash.

I assume some of them will play, even if they are carrying a slight knock, due to the magnitude of the occasion, but it won’t be the free-flowing PSG side we saw run rampant on their path to the Champions League trophy last season. The goalkeeper is also an interesting one, Donnarumma left the club over the summer, and Lucas Chevalier has stepped in, but he has looked a little uncomfortable at times. Donnarumma being absent as well means that PSG could potentially line up with only three players who started the Champions League final.

Barcelona have not lost a game this season, winning seven of their eight matches. They do have injury concerns themselves, mainly in goal, but not to the same scale as PSG. Barcelona’s main strength is their scoring power. There isn’t another side in Europe that can match the early scoring ability of Barcelona this season, and I’d expect that to continue here with Hansi Flick’s side making the most of the injury issues currently plaguing PSG.

Marcus Rashford was brilliant against Newcastle on Matchday 1 of the league phase, netting a brace at St James’ Park which came in the form of a superb header and a wonderful strike from outside the box, vintage Rashford.

Rashford gets a lot of criticism, but one area where he is amongst the best players in the world is ball striking. Not many players can hit a ball cleaner, with the power he can generate behind his strikes, also setting him apart from other attackers. Hansi Flick revealed after the Newcastle game that he was ‘desperate’ for the club to sign Rashford, likely because of his elite ball-striking ability.  

He’ll fancy his chances of adding to his tally here against a weakened PSG side. Barcelona have scored 21 goals across their seven league games this season, so we can expect them to generate chances with ease. 

The 27-year-old has registered three assists as well as his two goals for Barcelona this season, so he has been regularly involved in the attacking phase for Hansi Flick’s side. His shot volume is also notable in the early parts of the season; he’s averaged 3.85 shots per 90 in La Liga and managed six shots against Newcastle on Matchday 1.

Lucas Chevalier will be in for a busy evening on Wednesday as he faces up against the best attacking side in Europe, without the usual protection in front of him. PSG’s defensive strength comes from counter-pressing, they don’t actually end up having to do much defensive work as they keep the opposition penned in their own half and limit transitions with an effective pressing setup. 

This won’t be the case here with that system slightly affected by the absences that PSG are contending with, particularly in midfield. Chevalier was tested twice in PSG’s 4-0 win over Atalanta on Matchday 1 and now faces up against a Barcelona side that had five shots on target against Newcastle and are averaging 8.60 shots on target per game in La Liga, comfortably more than any other side.

It’s no secret that Barcelona play with a high line and that defensive setup puts their centre backs at direct risk of committing a foul and picking up a card. This is due to the fact that Cubarsi and his centre back partner are often forced into making tactical fouls to stop the opposition breaking on them quickly when they’ve overcommitted bodies forward.

Cubarsi is naturally quite an aggressive centre back and has committed five fouls across his four appearances in La Liga this season (1.33 per 90). This record hasn’t produced a card yet, but this is the perfect game for the 18-year-old to lose a bit of composure and give away a few cheap fouls. 

Cubarsi picked up two yellow cards and one red card across his 13 appearances in the Champions League last season. He also received three yellow cards across his 35 appearances in La Liga last term. I’d expect PSG to go quite direct at times here to try and find a way to expose Barcelona’s aggressive defensive line.