New-look Barca ready for first big test in Paris
PARIS: Barcelona face their first big test of the Luis Enrique era when they face Paris Saint-Germain in the French capital in the Champions League on Tuesday.
The Catalans looked sluggish in the 1-0 win against APOEL that kicked-off their Group F campaign, but they travel to France having won six and drawn one of seven matches altogether this season, and are yet to concede a single goal under their new coach.
Their performance in tearing apart Granada in La Liga on Saturday, when Neymar scored a hat-trick and Lionel Messi netted twice in a 6-0 victory, would have made for ominous viewing for anyone with PSG connections.
That duo are both almost cer- tain to start in a meeting of the two favourites to progress to the last 16 from the section, while there is no question of Messi, who is the only player to have started all seven games for Barca this season, being rested yet.
The biggest doubt surrounds who will start in goal, with Claudio Bravo having kept a clean sheet in all six domestic games so far while fellow summer recruit Marc-Andre ter Stegen was preferred against APOEL.
Either way, the newly watertight Barcelona defence will expect to endure a tough evening in the first meeting of the clubs since the quarter-final clash in April 2013, when Paris came away with a draw in both legs but were eliminated on away goals.
Since then, Carlo Ancelotti has been replaced in the PSG dugout by Laurent Blanc, who played alongside Luis Enrique at the Camp Nou for a season in the 1990s. PEP BEMOANS BAN
BERLIN: Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola has bemoaned the fact his team will play CSKA Moscow behind closed doors on Tuesday.
The Russian side have been punished by governing body Uefa after fan unrest during their group stage match against Czech club Viktoria Plzen last season.
“I’ve never experienced it and I really hope it’s the last time,” Guardiola said of playing before an empty stadium. “We will have to adapt to the situation, but it’s a little strange all the same.”