PSG mettle faces ultimate test at Barcelona

FC Barcelona will hope for another memorable night at the Camp Nou when Paris Saint-Germain FC come calling for the second leg of their UEFA Champions League quarter-final.

• Barcelona earned a 4-0 victory against AC Milan at home in the round of 16 and are unbeaten in Europe at the Camp Nou for over three years. Their 2-2 first-leg draw in France looks a promising platform yet PSG will have taken heart from Blaise Matuidi's last-minute equaliser that night and have won their last three UEFA Champions League away fixtures, including a 2-1 success at Valencia CF in the last round. They also have three players who know all about this venue in Blaugrana old boys Zlatan Ibrahimović, Thiago Motta and Maxwell.

Past meetings
• Luis Fernández's PSG drew 1-1 on their only previous visit to the Camp Nou in the 1994/95 UEFA Champions League quarter-finals, George Weah (57) cancelling out Igor Korneev's opening strike (48) to secure a first-leg draw.

• The French club then came from behind to win the return in Paris. José María Bakero (49) put Johan Cruyff's visitors in front, but PSG struck twice in the closing stages with Raí (72) and Vincent Guérin (83) both beating goalkeeper Carles Busquets, father of the current Barcelona midfielder Sergio.

• The lineups for the Camp Nou encounter on 1 March 1995 were:
Barcelona: Busquets, Ferrer, Koeman, Sergi, Guardiola (Amor 19), Iglesias, José Mari, Bakero, Korneev, Beguiristain (Eskurza 75), Stoichkov.
PSG: Lama, Cobos, Kombouaré, Roche, Colleter, Bravo, Le Guen, Guérin, Valdo, Ginola (Raí 61), Weah.

• Barcelona avenged that loss when Sir Bobby Robson's team overcame Ricardo Gomes's PSG 1-0 in the 1997 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup final in Rotterdam, Ronaldo scoring the only goal in the 37th minute.

• The lineups for that final on 14 May 1997 were:
Barcelona: Vítor Baía, Ferrer, Abelardo, Fernando Couto, Sergi, Figo, Popescu (Amor 46), Guardiola, De La Peña (Stoichkov 85), Luis Enrique (Pizzi 89), Ronaldo.
PSG: Lama, Domi, Le Guen (Dely Valdés 68), N'Gotty, Fournier (Algerino 58), Leroy, Guérin, Raí, Cauet, Leonardo, Loko (Pouget 78).

• The clubs drew 2-2 in a pre-season friendly in Paris on 4 August 2012, with Barcelona winning 4-1 in the shoot-out that followed. Barcelona led 2-0 through Rafinha and Lionel Messi's spot kick before the home side replied through Ibrahimović's penalty and Zoumana Camara.

• The lineups were:
PSG: Douchez (Sirigu 46), Maxwell (Armand 46), Sakho (Tiéné 62), Alex (Camara 46), Jallet (Biševac 61), Pastore, Bodmer (Hoarau 72), Rabiot (Verratti 46), Lavezzi (Luyindula 61), Ibrahimović (Matuidi 61), Nenê (Gameiro 46).
Barcelona: Valdés (Pinto 46), Planas (Montoya 46), Mascherano (Piqué 61), Puyol (Bartra 46), Alves (Tello 78), Roberto (Xavi 63), Busquets (Dos Santos 46), Rafinha (Fàbregas 62), Afellay (Iniesta 62), Messi, Sánchez (Pedro 63).

Match background
• Four-time winners Barcelona are targeting a sixth successive semi-final appearance and are undefeated in 20 UEFA Champions League home outings, winning 16, since a 2-1 reverse against FC Rubin Kazan on 20 October 2009.

• Barcelona's record against French sides at the Camp Nou is W5 D1 L1. Their most recent meeting with Ligue 1 opposition brought a 5-2 second-leg victory over Olympique Lyonnais in the 2008/09 round of 16 following a 1-1 away draw, their third successive home win against French teams.

• PSG have won four and lost three of eight previous away fixtures against Liga opposition. This term's last-16 triumph over Valencia maintained their 100% record in five two-legged encounters with teams from Spain.

• This is PSG's second UEFA Champions League quarter-final, the first bringing that aforementioned success against Barcelona. They last appeared in a European quarter-final in the 2008/09 UEFA Cup, losing to FC Dynamo Kyiv.

• Barcelona are in their 15th European Cup quarter-final and have a record of 12 wins and two defeats from 14 previous appearances. They had no quarter-final stage to negotiate when reaching the final in 1991/92 and 1993/94.

• The Blaugrana have won their last six home UEFA Champions League quarter-final ties, scoring 19 goals in the process; their last home defeat at this stage was against Juventus in April 2003.

• Barcelona have recorded 23 away first-leg draws in UEFA competition, winning 18 of those ties on aggregate, most recently against AC Milan in last season's quarter-finals. They have won all seven ties in which they have drawn 2-2 away first, including against Arsenal FC in the last eight four years ago (4-1 second leg).

• PSG have drawn the home first leg ten times in UEFA competition and won five of those ties on aggregate. However, they have been held at home 2-2 twice, and lost both ties.

• Barcelona's shoot-out record in UEFA competition is:
5-4 v KKS Lech Poznań, 1988/89 European Cup Winners' Cup second round
0-2 v FC Steaua Bucureşti, 1985/86 European Cup final
5-4 v IFK Göteborg, 1985/86 European Cup semi-final
4-1 v RSC Anderlecht, 1978/79 European Cup Winners' Cup second round
3-1 v Ipswich Town FC, 1977/78 UEFA Cup third round
5-4 v AZ Alkmaar, 1977/78 UEFA Cup second round

• PSG's shoot-out record is:
3-4 v Rangers FC, 2001/02 UEFA Cup third round

Team ties
• Carlo Ancelotti suffered a UEFA Champions League semi-final defeat against Barcelona in 2005/06, his Milan side succumbing 1-0 at home in the first leg before a goalless draw at the Camp Nou. The previous year the Rossoneri faced Barcelona in the group stage, winning 1-0 at home, but losing 2-1 away.

• PSG's defeat of Valencia in the last 16 was the first time that Ancelotti, as a coach, had got the better of Spanish opposition over two legs. His Milan side also lost to Deportivo in the 2003/04 quarter-finals, the then holders throwing away a 4-1 first-leg advantage to lose 4-0 in Galicia. His Juventus team lost 4-0 at RC Celta de Vigo to crash out of the 1999/2000 UEFA Cup in the fourth round.

• As a player Ancelotti's record against Spanish clubs in two-legged contests was W3 L2. His most high-profile encounter came when he scored in Milan's 5-0 defeat of Real Madrid CF in the 1988/89 European Champion Clubs' Cup semi-finals. The previous summer he had helped Italy beat Spain 1-0 at the 1988 UEFA European Championship.

• Motta began his career in Barcelona's youth ranks in 1999 and in eight years in Catalonia made 96 Liga appearances, scoring six goals. He won two league titles and was an unused substitute in the 2006 UEFA Champions League final triumph against Arsenal FC.

• Maxwell joined Barcelona in 2009, leaving for PSG in January 2012. He made 57 Liga appearances and won two league titles but did not feature in Barcelona's 2011 UEFA Champions League final victory.

• Ibrahimović spent 2009/10 at Barcelona, winning the UEFA Super Cup, Spanish Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup and Spanish Liga title. He scored 16 goals in 29 league outings – and four in ten in the UEFA Champions League.

• Thiago Silva headed Milan's added-time equaliser in a 2-2 UEFA Champions League draw at Barcelona in September 2011. He was in the Milan side beaten 3-2 at home by Barcelona in the return fixture.

• David Beckham featured seven times for Real Madrid against Barcelona, his record reading W3 D1 L3. He was also in the Manchester United FC team that overcame FC Bayern München in the 1999 UEFA Champions League final at the Camp Nou, playing a part in both the English side's added-time goals as they won 2-1.

• Motta was a second-half substitute and Salvatore Sirigu sat on the bench as Italy lost 4-0 to Spain in the UEFA EURO 2012 final in Kyiv. Jordi Alba scored and Gerard Piqué, Xavi Hernández, Andrés Iniesta, Sergio Busquets and Cesc Fàbregas also featured.

• Gregory van der Wiel was in the Netherlands team that lost the 2010 FIFA World Cup final to a Spain side including Piqué, Carles Puyol, Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets, Fàbregas, Pedro Rodríguez and David Villa.

• More recently, Matuidi, Mamadou Sakho and Jérémy Ménez played in the France team that earned a 1-1 World Cup qualifying draw with Spain in Madrid on 16 October last year.

• Éric Abidal played for AS Monaco FC, LOSC Lille and Olympique Lyonnais before joining Barcelona in 2007.

• Alex Song began his career with Corsican club SC Bastia, making 32 Ligue 1 appearances in 2004/05.