Good evening. It’s time for the big one, PSG v Barcelona – I don’t know about you, but I’m really looking forward to this.

Paredes whips a free-kick into the box, but Gueye’s flick-on drifts over the bar.

Twice in the opening stages PSG have leapt onto loose passes and look to spring attacks at pace and isolate that Barca defence. It’s come to little on both occasions, but there’s going to be a threat there, that’s for sure.

Barca have indeed lined up with this back-three, with De Jong dropping into the central role of the trio. The wing-backs are pushed extremely high, which is dangerous (both in an exciting and a risky way for the visitors).

Here we go! Lionel Messi gets the game underway for Barcelona, who are in their yellow away strip this evening. PSG are in their usual dark blue with a red stripe and white trim.

Whoever does progress from this tie will have to wait a while to find out who they face next, as the draw for the quarter-finals is still nine days away. It’ll be held at UEFA’s HQ in Nyon on Friday 19 March, with the ties scheduled to be played over the first two weeks of April.

Mauricio Pochettino’s side go into this game on the back of consecutive league wins that have moved them to within two points of Lille at the summit of Ligue 1. But the Parisiens can certainly be got at, and if Barca get on a roll tonight then you never know. Stranger things have (quite literally in this case) happened.

PSG are being given a real test in the league this season, which oddly might actually help their European prospects, as opposed to the usual pattern that sees them struggle to maintain intensity as the knockout stages progress. Last season was an exception of course, given the strange nature of the rescheduled tournament, and they made it all the way to the final. And with Mbappe playing like he is you wouldn’t be too surprised to see them go one better this year.

It’s not all doom and gloom for Barcelona though, far from it. Since being demolished in the first leg they have won three on the bounce in La Liga to move very much back into title contention, just three points behind league leaders Atletico. And there’s been a very high-profile change at the top too, with the return of Joan Laporta as president certainly seen as a positive by the majority of the club’s fans.

Who can forget those photos of Mbappe tearing through the Barcelona defence during the first leg. With the visitors needing to chase the game you wouldn’t bet against him wreaking similar havoc in the space in behind tonight, but there won’t be the ageing legs of Pique coming up against him – the Spaniard is unavailable.

It’s believed that Barcelona are going to switch to a back-three tonight, with the wing-backs being asked to push a bit higher. It’s an interesting idea and could, in theory, help contain Mbappe. But it’s all well and good in theory, let’s see what happens... and if Barca do actually line up that way.

PSG remain without Neymar and Angel di Maria is not considered fit enough to start, so Draxler comes into the front three. As in the first leg it looks like Verratti will be playing in a sort of hybrid 10 role in the space behind those forwards.

So to the team news…

Kylian Mbappe ripped Barca apart in the first leg, so the Paris side are overwhelming favourites to progress given their 4-1 advantage. We’ve been here before, and it didn’t end well for PSG back then. But this is a different Barcelona side, and the architect of their revival back in 2017 will tonight be sat in the stands wearing a PSG facemask as he continues his recovery from injury.