"I wouldn't change any of our players for one from PSG" - Joan Laporta's bold claim ahead of Barcelona's UCL clash against Parisians
Ahead of Barcelona's UEFA Champions League quarterfinal first leg with PSG, Barca president Joan Laporta has said that he would pick none of the Parisians players in his team.
In a marquee last-eight clash at the Parc des Princes on Wednesday (April 10), Xavi's side take on runaway leaders PSG, with both sides riding impressive win streaks. While the Parisians are unbeaten in 27 games across competitions, winning 19, while Barca haven't lost in 11, winning eight.
The two sides are dead-even in the head-to-head record in the UEFA Champions League, with each side winning four times and drawing as many. Ahead of their latest clash, Laporta told the club's X channel (as per GOAL), sounding confident in his team:
"I am prepared, fully prepared. I see the players very motivated, and this motivates me. The message for our fans is to believe in our players and our coach.
"We have a great team. We are very focused, and it is very important that they know I wouldn't change any of our players for one from PSG."
Xavi's side haven't lost since a 5-3 La Liga home defeat to Villarreal in December, while the Parisians' last defeat was a 4-1 Champions League group-stage reverse at Newcastle United in October.
What happened the last time Barcelona visited PSG?
Barcelona have had only one UEFA Champions League win in six visits to PSG. That came in the 2014-15 quarterfinal first leg, when Barca - under current Parisians boss Luis Enrique - won 3-1 en route a 5-1 aggregate win as they went all the way.
Since then, Xavi's side are winless in two games at the Parc des Princes. After a 4-0 defeat in the first leg of their 2016-17 Round of 16 clash, Barca drew 1-1 in their most recent clash at the home of the Parisians, which was a Round of 16 second leg four years later.
Kylian Mbappe opened the scoring for the Parisians from the spot in the 31st minute before Lionel Messi restored parity for the visitors six minutes later. However, La Pulga missed a spot-kick on the cusp of half-time as Barca went down 5-2 on aggregate.