Champions League Betting – PSG vs. Barcelona

Paris Saint-Germain (+275) vs. Barcelona (-110) (Draw +270, 2.5 o/u)

The UEFA Champions League quarterfinals will get underway next Tuesday and Wednesday (April 14-15) with four epic pairings. On Wednesday, French giants Paris Saint-Germain will host La Liga leaders Barcelona at Parc des Princes in the first leg of their two-game series (2:45 PM Eastern).

Both sides come into the quarterfinals after eliminating EPL teams in the Round of 16.

PSG eliminated EPL leaders Chelsea (3-3 on aggregate, 2-1 away goals) and looked like they would be a formidable foe in the UCL quarters no matter who they were matched up against.

However, the team suffered several key injuries against Olympique Marseille during a Ligue 1 game and will likely be without David Luiz, Marco Verratti, and Thiago Motta due to injuries; they will also have to fight on without playmaker Zlatan Ibrahimovic after he was sent off in the second game against the Blues.

Barcelona manager Luis Enrique isn’t taking the shorthanded squad lightly, though.

“The absence of Ibrahimovic and Verratti is important, but they have other players who are equally dangerous,” said Enrique. “Having the return leg at home is big. It’s important to get a good result in Paris and try to qualify for the semi-finals in front of our fans.”

Barcelona, meanwhile, eliminated Manchester City in the Round of 16 with a resounding 3-1 win on aggregate. The team has also won nine straight in all competitions, including a 2-1 win over Real Madrid two weeks ago in El Clasico.

Barca and PSG were actually lumped together in the Group Stage of this year’s Champions League; each team held serve on its home turf. While many were surprised that PSG were able to knock off Barcelona in the Group Stage (3-2), the trends indicated it was a distinct possibility; the Parisians haven’t lost a Champions League game at home since December 2004 against CSKA Moscow.

However, that streak appears poised to come to an end with PSG missing so many key players. Look for the French side to sit back and defend in an effort to keep Barca from an important away goal, meaning the under (2.5) is in play.

(Photo credit: By Lluís from Sabadell (Barcelona), España (LFS_14039) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons. Photo has been cropped.)